The Bite
by Elbereth in April
Summary: Vegeta from an alternate timeline appears on Earth. His mind was attacked by Kakkarot, Frieza's right-hand man, and they ended up bonded. Kakkarot follows him to Earth. *COMPLETE*
1. Default Chapter

The Bite  
  
By Elbereth in April Copyright 2002  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z. How I wish I did!  
  
A/N: In the alternate universe, Kakkarot somehow ended up being born before Vegeta so he is 3 years older when this story starts (age 16). Radditz is one year older than him (age 17). As for the names, I call A/U Vegeta by the name Vegeta (makes sense) as he is the main character. In order to avoid confusion, I am calling the DBZ Vegeta by the name Hito. Hito means Adult. I could call him Mirai but it doesn't really fit. I hope this meets with everyone's approval. And yeah, I know this Vegeta is more vulnerable than *our* Vegeta, but he's grown up differently and he's still young (age 13).  
  
______________ ____________  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
The last things he remembered, before the rejuv tank, were Kakkarot bending over him, licking his blood from lips contorted by an evil smirk. The searing pains from his body, especially his tail and his shoulder, spurting blood from the mark of Kakkarot's bite. The bite that had exploded through all his mental shields as if they were nothing, ripping at his defenses and his mind until he screamed with the agony and could no longer keep Kakkarot out of his head. He'd gloated over him, pounding through every corner of his mind, reading all his secrets and feelings and fears. . . probably even after he'd blacked out. And then Kakkarot had thrown him in the rejuvenation tank and gone to report it all to Frieza.  
  
Vegeta shuddered. He didn't remember getting out of the tank and to his own room, but he woke up lying in a bed. He supposed it had been Radditz. Vegeta didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to come fully awake, because he knew Kakkarot would still be in his head.  
  
Slowly, he reached up one hand and felt for the bite mark just above his collarbone. Still there. He opened his eyes.  
  
And froze. He wasn't in his own bedroom. He looked around in growing fear. He was in a room he'd never seen before. Not Kakkarot's. And it couldn't be Frieza's, not with that picture of cuddly kittens on the wall.  
  
He was alone, so he sat up. His heart was beating wildly and every sense was on alert. By the shape of the walls, he wasn't on Frieza's ship. And by the color of the sun streaming in through the slits of the closed blinds, he wasn't on Frieza's base planet. He took a deep breath. 'Where am I? What could have happened? Is this some kind of trick? Could it be an illusion?'  
  
No. And he could sense Kakkarot far away and very, very faint, but he wasn't actually *in* his mind. Kami, what was going on?  
  
Well, only one way to find out. The door was made of wood, and had to be opened by hand. Vegeta paused before opening it, catching sight of his reflection in a mirror on the wall. He was wearing his training body suit and boots, no gloves or armor, but he looked presentable enough, he was clean and healed. He paused to make sure he didn't *look* as scared as he *felt,* then opened the door.  
  
A hallway. Empty, uninteresting. He started down it, tense and battle- ready.  
  
__________ ____________  
  
Trunks was tying his shoes in preparation for going downstairs to eat breakfast when he felt a ki just appear in the guest bedroom. He assumed it was Goku, the only one he knew who could instantly materialize places, then blinked in confusion. No, it was his father's ki. But his mom and dad were supposed to be in town.  
  
Then he frowned, even more confused. No, it was *not* his father's ki- -and yet it was. But it felt all wrong, and far too weak.  
  
Trunks stood up, opened his door, and entered the hall. It was a boy just barely into his teen's. A Saiyan boy. It *was* his father.  
  
The two teenagers stood frozen, staring at each other. At 13 years, although still accomplished, Vegeta had had less practice at concealing his emotions. At 15 years, Trunks had been reading his father for a long time. This young Vegeta look-alike was afraid. But at the same time, he was dangerous. Trunks immediately tried to seem as unthreatening yet alert as possible.  
  
Vegeta spoke first. "Who are you and where am I?"  
  
"You're at Capsule Corp, on Planet Earth," Trunks answered soothingly. "And I'm Trunks Vegeta-Briefs. I'm half-Saiyan."  
  
Vegeta's eyebrows rose. "Vegeta?"  
  
"We're related." Trunks smiled.  
  
Vegeta's eyes flickered. "How did I get here?"  
  
"My best guess--having some experience at this sort of thing--is that my mom's time machine--which has been malfunctioning, that's why she went to town--had some sort of temporal anomaly or breakdown and brought you here from, apparently, an alternative timeline or even our own past."  
  
"You're saying I'm in an alternate future," Vegeta puzzled his way through this, blinking.  
  
Trunks nodded. "You are Prince Vegeta the 23rd, right?"  
  
Vegeta tilted his chin up, as if suddenly reminded of his image. He crossed his arms and regarded him with a sudden blankness of expression. "Yes."  
  
"Well then. That's my best guess."  
  
Vegeta stared at him a minute, then smirked. "You're crazy."  
  
"No, I'm serious!" Meanwhile, he was sending out a mental call to his parents, "Get back here, quick!"   
  
"Hn." Vegeta looked Trunks up and down. "And how are you related to me?"  
  
"Um. . ." Trunks had hoped not to be asked that. "Well, I'm your son."  
  
Trunks read the shock before Vegeta schooled his face again. "And Frieza?"  
  
"Dead."  
  
This time Vegeta couldn't hide his reaction. His eyes went wide and he swallowed hard.  
  
"Do you want some breakfast?"  
  
Vegeta didn't seem to have heard. He suddenly powered up. He wasn't all that strong yet, but it was still enough to stir a wind and break out the window at the end of the hall. Vegeta shoved past the startled Trunks and ran to the window. He looked out. He really was on a planet he'd never seen before. Was this really the future? Was Frieza really dead?  
  
Would this--half-Saiyan--want to send him back?  
  
He leaped out the window and took to the air, not really thinking coherently. He felt too overwhelmed to be entirely rational.  
  
"Hey!" Trunks yelled, and followed.  
  
Trunks caught up with him after a moment. He just flew beside him in silence for a short distance, each one casting glances at the other. "Um, where are you going?" Trunks asked at last.  
  
"I have no idea," Vegeta admitted, stopping.  
  
"Listen, my parents are on their way back. . ." Trunks began. With a sudden whoosh, Goten came flying up beside them.  
  
"I felt the new ki," he panted, "and I was on my way over anyway. . ." but before he could ask what was going on, Vegeta screamed.  
  
Trunks spun back to look at him. His face had gone white to the lips and he was staring at Goten.  
  
"Kakkarot. . ." he whispered. Then he yelled again and attacked him. He didn't expect to win; Kakkarot was surely stronger than him here, too-- wherever here was. But he couldn't let Kakkarot rape his mind and body again without a fight. If Kakkarot was going to take him again, it would be because he was too broken and bloody to stop him (as before), not because he cowered back in fear.  
  
Goten yelped and dodged, not sure what was going on.  
  
"Wait! Stop!" Trunks shouted, throwing himself in between. To be safe, Goten decided to go Super Saiyan. Vegeta fell back in disbelief as Goten's hair and eyes changed color and his aura sent off waves of heat and power.  
  
"No," Vegeta said in a voice half-growl, half-sob.  
  
"Goten, no," Trunks commanded.  
  
Goten frowned and powered down just as Goku appeared via Instant Transmission. "*What* is going on?"  
  
Vegeta stared, going even whiter. *This* was Kakkarot. He could feel him at the edges of his mind. And he was even stronger than this other, who had, it seemed, just effortlessly transformed himself into the legendary Super Saiyan.  
  
He'd thought this place was his salvation. Frieza was dead here. But now he knew it was just another hell. Kakkarot was here, undefeatable as always, and about to torture him again.  
  
"Stay out of my mind!" he screamed. "Stay away from me!"  
  
He started to rush Goku, who was just staring in blank confusion, when Trunks flared to Super Saiyan and sucker-punched him from behind. Trunks caught him as he started to fall, unconscious. "Look, I don't know, OK? But he doesn't seem to like either of you, so go away. I'm taking him home. Maybe my parents are back by now."  
  
__________ _____________  
  
Vegeta floated in memories.  
  
"How was the purge, Prince? Brother?" Kakkarot greeted them as they got of their space pods. He wore that familiar mocking grin.  
  
"Go lick Frieza's boots, lackey," Radditz snapped.  
  
Kakkarot just smiled wider. "I don't think that sounded very respectful. Should I go tell Lord Frieza you're being disrespectful to him?"  
  
Radditz gritted his teeth. "The purge went fine. We're going to report to Frieza now. So go away."  
  
"Report to who?"  
  
"*Lord* Frieza."  
  
Vegeta remained silent. He knew Kakkarot wasn't concentrating on the spoken conversation anymore than he was. No, whenever Kakkarot came near him, they battled by mind.  
  
Vegeta remembered the first time he'd met Kakkarot. Vegeta had been 7 when Frieza had brought Kakkarot to be one of his Saiyan fighters. He'd been a friendly kid, never able to resist a challenge, following Radditz around, curious about everything, but not overly-bright.  
  
He was incredibly strong, though, even as a brat. He'd also had enormous telepathic capabilities. Vegeta thought he might make a good Royal Councilor someday.  
  
Then he'd gone on his first whole-sale planet destruction with Zarbon and when he'd come back, it was as if he was a different person. Neither he nor Radditz nor anybody else had been able to figure it out, but he was suddenly Frieza's, heart and soul.  
  
Frieza had sent him off somewhere for special training. He was gone 3 years. When he arrived back on base, he reported in and then went looking for Vegeta.  
  
They'd stood talking quietly and politely and then Kakkarot walked away. But while they were talking, Kakkarot had attacked. His mind had slammed into Vegeta's mind and tried to take control. He had tried to strip away Vegeta's protective barriers and invade his innermost being.  
  
He'd come very close before Vegeta had figured out how to throw up a mental wall and keep him back.  
  
After that he was always probing. Frieza would find some excuse to beat him nearly senseless and then when he was weakened by pain, Kakkarot would try another attack. He'd kept him out for 3 years, until yesterday.  
  
"You're mine now, *Prince*," he'd whispered as he'd sunk his teeth into his shoulder.  
  
______________ ____________  
  
"No!" Vegeta sat up so fast he fell out of bed. He sprang up and almost fell over, panting and dizzy.  
  
"Relax," said a voice. It was his own.  
  
Vegeta focused on the person in front of him. 'Is that what I'll look like in--30 or 40 years?' They stared at each other.  
  
"How old are you?" the grown-up Vegeta asked.  
  
"13."  
  
"What's the last thing that happened to you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I want to see how similar our pasts are."  
  
Vegeta did not want to mention the last thing that happened to him. Or what Frieza had done to him just before that. "I killed Nappa for going over to Kakkarot's side."  
  
Hito Vegeta looked interested. "I think our timelines veered off early on, brat. I didn't even meet Kakkarot until I landed on Earth as an adult."  
  
'Could this--me--protect me from Kakkarot?' Vegeta wondered desperately. "Can you kill him? Who was the brat who looked just like him? Is Trunks really your son? How can you let him alone around Kakkarot?" the words tumbled out.  
  
Hito Vegeta raised his eyebrows. "I don't know what *your* Kakkarot was like, but this one is far too soft and good-hearted to be a threat. Don't get me wrong, he's very powerful. But he'd never hurt you unless you were trying to destroy the Earth or kill his family." He paused, watching the brat with his face try to accept this. "And that was his son, Goten. And Trunks is my son. They're both half-Saiyan. Kakkarot and I are the only full-blooded Saiyans still alive."  
  
Vegeta looked stricken. "Radditz?"  
  
"Dead."  
  
"By Frieza?"  
  
"No. . . a Namekian named Piccolo. Rein in your emotions, brat. They're weak. Don't do anything to disgrace me while you're here."  
  
"Kakkarot's never tried to attack your mind?"  
  
Hito Vegeta was startled. "No."  
  
Vegeta wanted to believe him: it would mean this place was safe, after all. "I'm not going back."  
  
Hito Vegeta started to speak, then stopped. He couldn't blame him.  
  
"That. . . Goten. He can turn into a Super Saiyan."  
  
"So can I," Hito smirked. "And Kakkarot, Trunks, and Kakkarot's other brat, Gohan."  
  
"And his brats are both. . . safe?"  
  
"Yes. Neither of them are a threat. Both as innocent and pure as their father. In fact, his oldest brat has married and gotten a brat of his own."  
  
Vegeta smiled in relief, then repressed it when Hito scowled.  
  
"Vegeta, how's it going? Do you need any help in there?" Bulma sent to her mate.  
  
"We're fine, but come on in."   
  
Vegeta's eyes went wide. He'd heard her. That was his older counterpart's woman (apparently) and he'd heard her.  
  
The door opened and a lovely blue-haired woman came in the room. She smiled at Vegeta. "You were so cute when you were young!"  
  
"Onna. . ." Hito said warningly as they both blushed. Bulma just giggled and walked over to stand in front of Vegeta. She looked him over, noticing his lean muscles and his tail.  
  
"Pleased to meet you," she introduced herself. "I'm Bulma, Vegeta's mate."  
  
A kind warmth seemed to radiate out from her. She was wearing a shirt with spaghetti straps and her bite mark was clearly visible. Without thinking, Vegeta reached out and touched it. All three felt a small tingle.  
  
Bulma and Hito looked at each other in surprise, then back at Vegeta. "You're bonded," he whispered.  
  
"Yes," she said.  
  
"Kakkarot--he has a mate? Are they bonded?"  
  
"Yes," Bulma said again. She and Chi-Chi had discussed their respective bonds at some length.  
  
Vegeta willed himself not to touch his own mark. He still didn't know how it would affect things here. He could still feel Kakkarot if he concentrated really hard. He shied back from that thought.  
  
"I'm sorry about this whole mix-up," Bulma went on. "It seems to be my fault. One of the proto-time machines I built malfunctioned somehow and created--well, a worm hole. I guess you got sucked in. Anyway, once I fix it, I can return you to. . ."  
  
"I'm *not* going back," Vegeta insisted, power flickering around him unconsciously.  
  
"Oh." "What should we do?"   
  
Hito retreated inside himself somewhat.  
  
"Vegeta?"   
  
"Well, we certainly can't send him back at his current power level. He has to be able to kill Frieza first."   
  
Vegeta eavesdropped shamelessly.  
  
"Are you going to train him then?"   
  
"Of course. And he can have Trunks for company."   
  
"What if he *never* wants to go back?"   
  
There was a long pause. ". . .Let him stay."   
  
Vegeta stopped himself from smirking.  
  
___________ ___________  
  
A/N again: OK, I know I'm supposed to be writing Ch 13 of "The Deception," but I got this in my head and couldn't get it out. I told you I always end up writing 3 or 4 things at once.  
  
I'm feeling sort of insecure about this story, so please let me know what you think. Seriously now. It's not *only* that my entire existence centers on receiving reviews. 


	2. 2

The Bite  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
  
  
A/N: I shall continue calling the present time line Vegeta by the name of Hito (Adult) as the alternate Vegeta goes by the name of Vegeta . They have a little discussion about names in this chapter; the other characters will call them Vegeta-san and Vegeta-chan. Got all that? Don't worry, you'll remember.  
  
_______________ _____________  
  
Chapter Two  
  
The two Vegeta's, Bulma, and Trunks sat around the table for lunch. Bulma and Trunks attempted to make conversation. "So, Chibi Vegeta. . ."  
  
"What? Chibi?" Vegeta protested immediately.  
  
"That's what they called me when my future self was here," Trunks explained.  
  
"So this is like a normal occurrence for you?"  
  
"No," the others replied at once.  
  
"Anyway, I don't want to be called Chibi."  
  
"Well how can we tell you two apart then?"  
  
Vegeta smirked. "Why don't you call him Father?"  
  
Bulma laughed and Trunks choked slightly. "Why don't you call me Lord Vegeta?" Hito Vegeta countered.  
  
"Then I'll be Prince Vegeta."  
  
"We are *not* calling you Lord Vegeta. You're arrogant enough as it is," Bulma told him.  
  
"Onna. . ."  
  
"What about Bulma's Vegeta?"  
  
The two Vegeta's glared at each other.  
  
"We could call you Kawaii Vegeta," Bulma said to the teenager sweetly.  
  
"Why don't you just call them Vegeta-san and Vegeta-chan?" Trunks suggested, grinning.  
  
"Fine," said Hito.  
  
"Oh, whatever," Vegeta murmured grumpily.  
  
"More pot roast?" Bulma offered.  
  
"So tell us about your timeline," Trunks said.  
  
"The King gave me as a hostage to Frieza when I was 5," Vegeta told them reluctantly. "Vegeta-sei blew up when I was 7. The only Saiyans left were Radditz, Kakkarot, Nappa, Nasu, and me. We stayed on under Frieza. No other choice. Kakkarot belongs to Frieza. He is an enemy to the Saiyan race. Nappa tried to join him so I killed him. That left me and Radditz."  
  
"What happened to Nasu?"  
  
Vegeta looked down. "Frieza took her for breeding stock last year. I don't know if she's still alive."  
  
"Did you ever meet a Nasu?" Bulma asked Hito. He shook his head.  
  
"A lot of variation," Bulma commented interestedly. "I wonder what made the difference."  
  
"Did Kakkarot ever live on Earth?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Not that I know of."  
  
"Apple cobbler?"  
  
"Well--what about here? What happened here?"  
  
Hito remained silent until Bulma kicked him under the table. He sighed. "Hostage at 5. Frieza destroyed our planet shortly after. Remained. . ."  
  
Vegeta stood up. "It *was* Frieza! I knew it was!" His tail whipped back and forth and his eyes looked a little wild.  
  
The others regarded him in surprise, then understanding. "He was afraid of us. Of our growing strength. He was afraid of the legendary Super Saiyan," Hito told him.  
  
Vegeta stared at him, breathing a little hard. "I suspected. . . I knew that meteorite story couldn't be true. . . I didn't want to believe it."  
  
"Believe it, brat."  
  
Vegeta took in deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He sat down, deliberately closing himself off and putting on an expressionless face. He felt safer that way.  
  
Hito continued talking to take the attention away from the teenager. "Remained in Frieza's employ for 20 more years. Radditz went to Earth to see whatever had happened to his brother Kakkarot, who was sent to purge the planet as an infant. Kakkarot had apparently fallen and knocked his head in as soon as he got here, because he lost his memory. The baka. He was adopted by some old man and raised as a human. When Radditz came to tell him of his true heritage, he decided to protect Earth and renounce his Saiyan side. The jerk. Anyway, Piccolo killed Radditz and Kakkarot, too, in order to do it. Then Kakkarot was wished back to life. . ."  
  
"Excuse me?" His mind was reeling from one shock to another.  
  
"I'll explain all that. He came back to life to fight Nappa and me. I came to Earth to get the dragonballs Piccolo told Radditz about. That's how Kakkarot came back to life. You collect these seven magic balls and a dragon appears and grants you a wish. Seriously."  
  
"What would you wish for?" Bulma interrupted to ask.  
  
"Immortality," Vegeta answered immediately.  
  
"Huh. Him, too."  
  
"It's the surest way to be guaranteed invincibility."  
  
"*Anyway,* it came out that it was actually a Namekian who created the balls, and when Nappa killed Piccolo, the dragonballs disappeared. So we all went to Namek, but Frieza followed us. It was a race. Basically, there was a big fight over their dragonballs, Frieza was killed, and we all ended up back on Earth."  
  
"Nappa?"  
  
"I killed him for incompetence."  
  
"And you decided to stay on Earth."  
  
"It has the best sparring partners."  
  
"Did you get to make your wish? I don't think you're immortal."  
  
"No," Hito growled. "I was interrupted."  
  
"But you got me instead," Bulma purred.  
  
Hito blinked and then smirked at her. Vegeta blushed and looked at Trunks.  
  
"I'll let you settle in today," Hito said after lunch. "Tomorrow we start training. Trunks! Show him around." Then he disappeared off to his gravity room.  
  
Trunks looked at Vegeta. "Well, let me show you the house."  
  
___________ ____________  
  
Vegeta followed Trunks around. After he'd had the grand tour, Bulma showed him which room would be his and gave him some of Trunks and Vegeta's clothes to wear. Then the boys wandered around outside.  
  
"So. What do you think of your father?" Vegeta asked him as they walked.  
  
Trunks looked at him. "My father is the greatest man who ever lived. And he's a Prince! And he's strong and brave."  
  
Vegeta stopped walking and stared at him.  
  
"Wanna spar?" Trunks grinned.  
  
Vegeta's eyes lit up. "Of course."  
  
They started at it. It wasn't as much fun for Trunks, who had to stay at a much lower power level than normal, but Vegeta had a great time. He loved a challenging fight.  
  
After Trunks knocked him down hard enough that he could barely get back up, they decided to call it quits. They sat on the grass for awhile, breathing hard.  
  
"What? That's the look that means you want to ask me something serious."  
  
Vegeta frowned. "It is?"  
  
"Yeah." Trunks waited patiently.  
  
"I'm not the one who killed Frieza. Am I?"  
  
Trunks sighed. "No. It was Goku--Kakkarot."  
  
Vegeta lay down on his back and looked up at the sky. It was a pale, pale blue with clouds that looked like they'd been painted on and then smeared across the sky.  
  
'There's always somebody stronger. I'm doomed to eternal failure, I guess. I never get my revenge--to restore my pride. For Vegeta-sei. . . no, don't think about that. But--my son thinks I'm the greatest guy in the world.'  
  
Vegeta looked at Trunks and gave him a half-smirk, half-smile. "You ever *tell* your dad how great he is?"  
  
Trunks looked down, suddenly bashful. "No."  
  
"You should. You might be surprised."  
  
"OK." Trunks grinned. Having this other Vegeta around could be very informative about his dad. "Let's go inside and see if we can get a snack."  
  
"All right." Vegeta stood up and suppressed a groan. Boy did he ache! "I think I may need to get cleaned up first." He looked down at his torn and bloody clothes.  
  
"Yeah, me too. We don't want Mom to throw a fit."  
  
They went in.  
  
__________ ___________  
  
Vegeta was walking down the hall to join Trunks in the kitchen after a quick shower and change of clothes. He stopped when he heard two people talking, mind to mind.  
  
"Trunks? Is he around?"   
  
"Hey, Goten. He's gonna be staying with us."   
  
"Do you think he'll mind me being here? He didn't seem to like me."   
  
"That was all just. . . a misunderstanding. I guess the Kakkarot he knows isn't a very nice guy. He never lost his memory or came to Earth. I guess his Saiyan side was always in control of him. Your dad as a Saiyan must be evil."   
  
Goten sounded confused. "I just can't imagine Dad as evil."   
  
"No. Me either."   
  
"So. . . is it OK if I hang out awhile then? There's nothing to do at my house."   
  
"Well, I guess so. Unless he seems too upset by you. But I suppose he needs to get used to you."   
  
The voices stopped. They'd reverted to normal, spoken conversation.  
  
OK. Trunks wasn't afraid of Goten. He didn't sound evil. And Vegeta said he was safe. No big deal then, right? Vegeta continued walking. He entered the kitchen, braced for the sight of a Kakkarot-clone.  
  
It still gave him an eerie twinge to see him. He rubbed the bite under his shirt absently.  
  
"Hi!" Goten grinned widely and rubbed the back of his head. "Hope it's OK I'm here! I'm Goten--remember me? Pleased to meet'cha."  
  
Vegeta appraised him carefully from across the room. He didn't feel dangerous but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Vegeta crossed his arms and gave him a careful nod of acknowledgement.  
  
"Hey, grandma's home--she's made cookies!" Trunks announced, relieved that Vegeta seemed unalarmed.  
  
Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Cookies?"  
  
"Cookies!" Goten exclaimed in delight.  
  
They went in search of them. Mrs. Bunny Briefs almost dropped the pan when she saw Vegeta. "Oh my goodness, it is Vegeta! And he's so young! And so adorable!" She set the pan down on the stove, ran over, and hugged him.  
  
Vegeta shoved her away, face bright red. He'd come close to ki blasting her. He hadn't had someone rush him except to attack him since-- well, ever. He couldn't remember being hugged.  
  
Bunny just laughed. "Have some cookies, boys!"  
  
They did.  
  
__________ __________  
  
Vegeta lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. He had removed the picture of kittens from the wall but otherwise pretty much ignored the room. He was wearing some of Trunks' old pajamas.  
  
So. This was his new life. He calmed his breathing and ignored his headache and tried to think.  
  
The other residents of Capsule Corp seemed to be OK people, especially Trunks. He wasn't sure what to think of his older self; he was a lot harder to understand than what he should have been. 'Considering he's me.'  
  
Goten hadn't done anything threatening while he had been there, aside from going Super Saiyan again and sparring with a Super Saiyan Trunks. Vegeta had watched them fight in awe. His final opinion, however, had seemed to match Trunks': sometimes so simple he was simply annoying. But it was obvious Trunks and Goten were very loyal friends, and Trunks wouldn't be friends with an evil bully. . . unless he'd been put under Goten's mind control and the whole limited intelligence and innocence was all an act. But no, they'd fought too much, and Trunks was usually dominant. Besides, Trunks didn't have a bite mark; he'd checked covertly.  
  
He felt hesitantly and cautiously along the bond. Kakkarot was asleep. He was dreaming about swimming in ice cream. He was eating it up as he went along, but he was very cold. He muttered something in his sleep. His mate woke up a fraction and pulled the blanket over him.  
  
Vegeta slowed down his breathing again. That's right. This Kakkarot had a human female mate. If Vegeta concentrated hard enough, he could feel her, too. This Kakkarot was *not* his Kakkarot. This Kakkarot was *not* evil.  
  
So they said.  
  
There was no way he was going to get to sleep.  
  
He threw back the sheets and left the room. He remembered the layout of the buildings perfectly well; it was a skill he'd acquired out of necessity once.  
  
He walked through the dark, silent hallways until he found an outside door. He looked up at the stars. He didn't recognize any of them. He walked out onto the lawn, just taking everything in, then he flew up and landed softly on the roof of CC.  
  
He sat down cross-legged, but he couldn't meditate either, so he gave up after a few minutes and stretched out on his back, staring up at the stars.  
  
Hito came and joined him after about half an hour. Vegeta looked over at him. "I come here all the time."  
  
They watched the stars in silence for awhile. "I don't know any of these stars," Vegeta said at last. "Where's Vegeta-sei?"  
  
Hito pointed it out for him.  
  
'20 years, he said,' Vegeta thought. 'He was under Frieza for 20 years.'  
  
'Me at 13,' Hito thought. 'Only. . . hn. Maybe worse.'  
  
"You're going to train me tomorrow, right?" Vegeta asked suddenly. "I want to learn how to transform to Super Saiyan."  
  
"First you're going to have to learn how to fight under 100 times our gravity." Hito smirked. "We'll see how you do. As they say on Earth, 'no pain, no gain.'"  
  
Vegeta stared at him for a moment, then gave him back one of his mirthless, bitter smirks. "Pain I'm used to."  
  
Hito stood up abruptly. "Til tomorrow then." He floated to the ground and went back inside.  
  
Vegeta watched the stars until the sky started to grow light.  
  
____________ _____________  
  
A/N: If anybody can think of a better title, let me know. And keep reviewing, I need encouragement for this particular story. 


	3. 3

The Bite--Ch. 3  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
The Vegeta's faced off in the gravity room. "This is 20 times gravity. What do you think?"  
  
This Hito was not going to get a chance to smirk at *him.* "Fine."  
  
He smirked anyway; he knew it was a lie. But not a major one; Vegeta was already adjusting. 'He's good,' Hito thought. 'Better than me at 13. I wonder why.'  
  
"All right then," was what he said. "Let's begin."  
  
They started out hand to hand, kicks and punches and blocks. They rapidly progressed to ki attacks. Hito was much more experienced although Vegeta had amazing concentration and a cooler head. Still it was obvious Hito had the advantage. When he finally beat Vegeta down a bit and the spar had wound down, they took a break.  
  
"I need to teach you how to repress your ki. And how to sense others' without a scouter."  
  
"I'm ready!" Vegeta smirked eagerly, ignoring his bruises and cuts.  
  
Vegeta learned quickly. After he had mastered this lesson, it was time for lunch. He discovered Goten had come to visit again.  
  
"You spend a lot of time here, don't you?" Vegeta said by way of greeting.  
  
Goten looked a bit sulky. "My mom kicked me out of the house a little while ago and told me to come over here."  
  
Vegeta shrugged.  
  
"Fortunately, I cooked plenty," said Bunny. The eldest Briefs were eating with them.  
  
Just as Vegeta started eating, though, he turned a strange color and adopted his blankest expression.  
  
"What's wrong?" Bulma asked, concerned.  
  
"N-nothing," Vegeta stammered. His bite mark was burning and all kinds of images were streaming through his mind. Kakkarot and his mate were. . . being. . . intimate. He shuddered slightly. With a lot of effort, he managed to block most of it except a strange euphoric feeling.  
  
Towards the end of the meal, he twitched suddenly and dropped his fork. "Are you sure you're OK? You look kind of flushed."  
  
"Actually I--I feel kind of weird," Vegeta confessed before he thought.  
  
"Let me take you to the lab and run a couple tests," Dr. Briefs volunteered enthusiastically.  
  
"No! I'm fine!"  
  
"Come on, Vegeta," Bulma ordered. "We have to make sure you're not getting sick."  
  
"It's too late now," Trunks told him mournfully. "Next time don't admit you feel bad."  
  
Hito smirked at him. Vegeta rolled his eyes and gave in.  
  
Dr. Briefs drew some of his blood and had the doctor check him over. Vegeta proved uncooperative. Bulma followed them down and watched to make sure he was OK.  
  
Dr. Briefs studied the results and frowned. "He's not sick, although his pulse rate is rather high. But. . . Bulma, look at this." He handed her a paper.  
  
"What?" Vegeta demanded.  
  
"There're traces of a drug in your blood," Bulma reported slowly. "Basically it lowers your ability to reach and use your ki. I'd say Frieza's been drugging you."  
  
Vegeta's hands clenched and his tail unwrapped from his waist and swished about. But he said nothing.  
  
"It'll probably be a week before it's all out of your system."  
  
"I wonder if Vegeta-san was drugged when he arrived here," Dr. Briefs mused.  
  
Vegeta shoved himself off the medical table. "I'm going to take a shower. I still feel--dirty."  
  
__________ ________  
  
After his third shower of the day, Vegeta found Trunks, Goten, and Hito all sparring in the gravity room. They had all transformed to Super Saiyan and the gravity level, according to the monitor outside the door, was 200 times normal. He obviously had a quite a ways to go to catch up.  
  
Not wanting to disturb them, he walked away. 'It's not like I can't train on my own,' he thought, feeling inexplicably lonely. He took to the air, heading for the woods he saw in the distance behind CC.  
  
He landed in a small clearing beside a running brook. He stared down at it. So he'd been drugged. He felt as if he should have been more indignant and surprised, but really, it was a small thing to add to the list of all the crimes against him.  
  
No--then again, it wasn't. How much stronger could he be now if he hadn't been suppressed all these years? He snarled and blasted a tree, then regretted it. He was supposed to have more self-control.  
  
He started stretching in preparation of training. Then with his newly learned ability, he thought he sensed a strong ki coming towards him. It didn't feel quite human.  
  
A green-skinned alien came walking through the trees.  
  
"You're a Namek."  
  
"You're the alternate Vegeta that Dende told me was here," the Namek replied.  
  
"Who's Dende?"  
  
"The guardian of Earth."  
  
"Are you Piccolo?"  
  
He nodded. They appraised one another's strength.  
  
"You killed Radditz."  
  
"It was self-defense."  
  
They stared each other down some more.  
  
"You have incredible mental shields," Piccolo stated, frowning. "Been attacked a lot, have you?"  
  
Vegeta almost flinched, eyes widening. "Get out of my head or I'll kill you!"  
  
Piccolo held up his hands. "Easy. I'm not in your head. That was a simple observation. *I'm* not going to attack you."  
  
Vegeta had taken a fighting stance, regarding him warily. Piccolo seemed all right, but it could be a trick.  
  
Piccolo smirked. "Wanna spar?"  
  
Vegeta smirked back. Did everyone on this planet like to fight as much as he did? "Sure."  
  
They circled each other, then Piccolo attacked. He aimed two quick punches to his stomach, which Vegeta blocked, kicking out as he did so. Piccolo moved aside and aimed another punch at Vegeta's head. Vegeta dodged and spun around, kicking Piccolo's legs out from under him. Piccolo grabbed him by the shoulder as he fell, pulling him down, then rolling over so Vegeta was on the bottom. He hit him in the ribs and the face before Vegeta shoved him aside and bounced back up. He floated in the air and kicked Piccolo in the shoulder, spinning him around, then double-handing him in the spine. Piccolo grunted but whipped back around and hit Vegeta in the gut.  
  
Vegeta gasped and fell back a bit. Piccolo rose to meet him in the air. Vegeta held out his palm and fired a blast at him, which Piccolo dodged. Piccolo smirked and fired a weaker version of his beam cannon attack, so quickly Vegeta could only try to block. This singed him somewhat and he scowled. He was weaker than everybody!  
  
Piccolo rushed him again and hit him so hard he careened into a tree, bouncing off and hitting another one. Vegeta moved his hands into an attack that Piccolo's eyes widen.  
  
"Kamehameha!"  
  
Piccolo was so startled he didn't dodge in time. The blast him, knocking him into the ground, hard.  
  
He stood up and shook his head to clear it. "That's Goku's attack!"  
  
"Is it? I saw Goten do it about four times yesterday. Wanted to try it out." Vegeta shrugged and smirked.  
  
Piccolo muttered, "Vegeta and yet not Vegeta."  
  
Vegeta raised his eyebrows and began to retort but broke off as he and Piccolo both felt another ki coming.  
  
"That's Gohan," Piccolo told him. "Probably coming to see why I'm fighting you."  
  
"Gohan is Goku's other brat?" Piccolo nodded.  
  
Gohan landed next to them. "Hey guys!" He smiled widely.  
  
There was something about Gohan very different from his brother, Vegeta decided, something that age difference alone didn't account for. Vegeta thought Gohan looked about 10 years older than him, still young to be married with a brat.  
  
Vegeta measured Gohan, pondering. Of all the people he'd met so far, Trunks and Gohan seemed the least threatening. He couldn't explain why. He reminded himself sternly that he was still the offspring of Kakkarot and not to be trusted.  
  
"You're obviously the new Vegeta that Goten told me about," Gohan said, still smiling. "I'm his brother, Gohan."  
  
Vegeta nodded and crossed his arms.  
  
"I see you've met Piccolo!"  
  
"We were sparring," Piccolo explained, half-smiling at Gohan.  
  
"You've got a mate, right?"  
  
Gohan was slightly confused by the abrupt change of subject, but answered. "Videl."  
  
"You bonded?"  
  
He looked somewhat taken aback but kept smiling. "Yeah. And we've got a daughter, Pan."  
  
"And you're a Super Saiyan, too."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Vegeta wiped a little bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Interesting."  
  
"Well." The three of them stared at each other. "Um, I didn't mean to interrupt your fight. I'll just be going back home."  
  
Vegeta shrugged. "I can feel Trunks coming."  
  
A few minutes later, Trunks landed in the clearing. "Hi guys! Mom sent me to find Vegeta."  
  
"Hi," Gohan said brightly.  
  
"Am I supposed to return?"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Hn. Whatever." He followed Trunks into the air, leaving Gohan to wave goodbye and turn to Piccolo.  
  
"So, since I'm here, sensei, wanna spar?"  
  
__________ __________  
  
Vegeta and Trunks didn't have far to go. They landed just outside the door to CC and went in. Bulma was on the phone, arguing with Hito at the same time.  
  
Hito turned to them. "This ridiculous onna is planning a party. She wants her friends to meet you."  
  
Vegeta stiffened, glancing at Bulma with not quite concealed horror. "Tell her no!"  
  
Bulma quickly ended her conversation and hung up. "Don't be that way, Vegeta-chan. Everybody's been asking about you."  
  
"Let them wonder!"  
  
"You've already met several of them. It's just the Z-warriors, mainly. It'll be fun."  
  
Vegeta shook his head violently.  
  
"I told her it was a bad idea," Hito huffed, "but she won't listen."  
  
If Hito wasn't going to get him out of this, he was sunk. He decided to give in gracefully. "OK--just this once."  
  
"Really?"  
  
He smirked at the adults. "Since it's you asking."  
  
They gaped at him. Trunks grinned.  
  
Bulma blushed and smiled. "All right! Trunks, help me make some calls."  
  
"Aw, mom. . ."  
  
"Come on, brat." Hito jerked his head at Vegeta. "You've been lazing away since lunch. Time to get back to training."  
  
Vegeta was ready.  
  
___________ _____________  
  
Vegeta was already getting used to 20 times gravity. And it was so refreshing to be able to battle an opponent who he *knew* wasn't going to attack his mind. Normally he could never concentrate 100% on a pure physical attack. He always has to save some back. Habits dying hard, he could never completely let his guard down, but it'd been a *very* long time since he'd only used 10% of himself on his mind shields.  
  
Hito could only wonder why Vegeta seemed quite a bit stronger and more focused since that morning.  
  
They fought mostly in silence, except for periodic taunts from Hito. Vegeta crashed into the wall for the sixth time and Hito shook his head. "Pathetic."  
  
Vegeta concealed his rising anger. He knew how he was; Hito probably couldn't help himself. Insults could be part of the battle. Or--hn--the opposite.  
  
He waited until Hito was rushing towards him to say, "Did you know that Trunks idolizes you?" When Hito almost imperceptibly faltered, he ducked the rush and slammed into Hito from the side. His own momentum carried Hito into the wall. Vegeta smirked at him.  
  
Hito picked himself up, at first angry, then he smirked back. "Hn. It's only to be expected."  
  
Vegeta laughed. "And they say *I'm* arrogant."  
  
"Let's try you on the robots now," said Hito, ignoring that last comment.  
  
"Robots?"  
  
"Programmed especially for training. They get destroyed a lot, so the onna has to keep building more." He walked over to the computer and punched in some keys. Several small black robots rose into the air, humming.  
  
Hito smirked at him. "Here we go."  
  
Excitement filled Vegeta at another new enemy. This gravity room was great!  
  
__________ __________  
  
At supper Bulma went over the party arrangements. "Next week, lunch, casual. The whole gang's coming."  
  
"And that would include?"  
  
"Goku and Chi-Chi, Goten, Yamcha, Gohan and Videl and their daughter, Krillin and his wife and daughter, Tien, Chatzou, Piccolo, and Roshi."  
  
"Wow, even Piccolo's coming. And he already met you, too."  
  
Vegeta drank some milk. "Maybe he wants to finish the fight."  
  
Bulma continued to talk excitedly. Trunks looked bored, Hito grumpy. Vegeta was lost in his thoughts. So. The whole Kakkarot clan was coming, plus a bunch of strangers. He'd have to be on his guard. Despite the assurances he'd been given, there was no way he was just going to relax around Kakkarot.  
  
Kakkarot. . . he concentrated. Kakkarot had just finished eating and was feeling very satisfied. His thoughts were wandering while his mate and son babbled at him. He wanted to go fishing tomorrow. Kakkarot looked around suddenly. Vegeta shoved his mind away quickly, heart beating fast.  
  
Hito was staring at him. Vegeta met his eyes. "What are you up to, brat?" he asked abruptly, silencing Bulma and Trunks.  
  
"I don't know what you mean."  
  
"You looked like you were talking to somebody. In your head."  
  
Admit nothing. Don't show anything. "No. Just scouting."  
  
"Scouting?"  
  
"Checking the area."  
  
"How much can you sense?" Hito demanded.  
  
Eyes narrowed, defenses up. "A lot. Why?"  
  
Onyx stare met stare, scowling.  
  
"Are you like, ESP sensitive or something?" Trunks asked curiously, buttering another roll.  
  
A glance at Trunks, a shrug.  
  
Bulma looked back and forth at the two of them. "Quit that."  
  
They looked at her. Vegeta wished he could laugh. But it really wasn't funny anyway. Would this Hito try to hunt out all his secrets? And did Hito really dislike him or was this the way he treated everyone? Cause he was really intimidating. 'Maybe if I was older, I'd have the same effect. It's hard to be truly threatening at 13. Although at 16, Kakkarot sure manages it. . .'  
  
Vegeta dropped that thought quickly.  
  
He would have to perfect Hito's unemotional stare.  
  
______________ __________  
  
He was dreaming again.  
  
"Nappa has defected."  
  
Vegeta had gone to the laundry to pick up some new uniforms. He looked at Radditz over an armload of clean clothes. "What?"  
  
"I just overheard Kakkarot promise him 'power and military rewards' for becoming another of Frieza's toadies."  
  
Vegeta had a brief feeling of betrayal before he suppressed it. He knew nobody could be trusted.  
  
"Well. Let's just go have a little conversation with Nappa then, shall we, Radditz?"  
  
Radditz grinned evilly and followed him.  
  
The dream sped forward. Light burst around him. Nappa fell at his feet. Frieza was coming and he was telling Radditz to run. Run.  
  
He was sparring in the training room with Radditz, several years before. "You know what I miss, Vegeta? Chocolate. I haven't had chocolate in years."  
  
He kicked Radditz in the stomach, hard. "I heard the Ginyu Force had some."  
  
Radditz almost hit him in the face, but he dodged. "You think if we vowed loyalty to Frieza, he'd get us some?"  
  
He knocked Radditz into the wall, where he slowly slid to the floor. "Don't even joke about that."  
  
He and Radditz stared at each other, then he gave in and smirked. Radditz pulled himself back up.  
  
"Maybe we could get our hands on some."  
  
Radditz raised his eyebrows. "How?"  
  
"The Ginyu Force."  
  
Radditz aimed another punch at Vegeta, who blocked and slammed his fist into Radditz's jaw. "Sounds dangerous."  
  
"We just need a clever plan."  
  
"And of course, no one's more clever than you."  
  
Vegeta smirked again. "Of course." He caught Radditz's fists. "What do you think?"  
  
Radditz tried to free his hands and couldn't. "If you're in, I'm in. Chocolate is worth the risk."  
  
Vegeta stood outside Recoome's door. Radditz was in the room, scenting out the chocolate. Vegeta was trying to keep Recoome's and Jeice's attention until Radditz could get the candy and get out.  
  
Hiding in the dark in the loft above the hangar bay, watching the Ginyu Force searching for them among the space pods. After they gave up, the Saiyans split the chocolate, 1 and 1/2 candy bars each.  
  
Run, run. He had made Radditz run. But Vegeta had not.  
  
"None of us will mourn the death of Nappa," Frieza said. "But rebellious acts cannot be tolerated. Kakkarot assures me this was an act of rebellion on your part."  
  
"You believe his word over mine?" Vegeta protested, despite knowing it was hopeless. "I'm a Prince!"  
  
"Your title is no longer even relevant," Frieza sneered. "It never meant much in the first place. Your power is nothing compared to mine. All you monkey freaks are pitifully weak. I'm not sure why I even bother to keep you around. You're pathetic, really."  
  
Vegeta flushed. "That's right. His death didn't mean much. Just let it go. It didn't hurt you."  
  
Frieza smiled and Vegeta's blood ran cold. "Ah, Vegeta." His voice was like silk. "We're talking about hurting *you.*"  
  
__________ ________  
  
With a hoarse cry, Vegeta managed to wake himself up at that point. He didn't go back to bed. He went out on the roof to stare at the stars. Trunks found him there two hours later.  
  
He laid down next to him on his back. "My dad comes up here all the time."  
  
"Your dad ever talk about Frieza?"  
  
Trunks looked over at him, trying to read his expression by moonlight. "No."  
  
"What about Radditz?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Not a bad guy, Radditz."  
  
Trunks waited. When it was obvious Vegeta wasn't going to say anymore, he asked, "In what way?"  
  
"He was brave. And he was loyal," Vegeta answered softly.  
  
"You know Radditz tried to kill Goku and Piccolo."  
  
"Hn. Not my Radditz." Trunks acknowledged this. "And maybe," he continued, "Kakkarot and Piccolo deserved it. Did you ever think about that? I mean, you don't get to hear his side of the story."  
  
Trunks opened his mouth and then closed it again.  
  
"Why aren't you asleep, anyway?"  
  
Trunks shrugged. "Don't know. Just woke up."  
  
"Tai hou shin te arzellas," Vegeta murmured.  
  
Trunks screwed up his face in concentration. "I awake. . . to see stars. Right?"  
  
"You speak Saiyago?" Vegeta smiled delightedly. "Cual hel Trunks, rin lei ouji hono Vegeta-sei!"  
  
"All hail Trunks, next in line for the throne of Vegeta-sei." Trunks smiled back, but then Vegeta stopped smiling.  
  
"Are you ever bitter that you'll never *be* prince in Vegeta-sei?"  
  
Trunks sighed. "Not too much. I mean, I never lived there so I don't know what I'm missing. Dad's told me stories, but it's not the same thing."  
  
"I only got to live there 5 years. . ." Then he abruptly changed the subject. "Do you think there's a Bulma in my timeline?"  
  
He laughed. "There has to be. My mom is everywhere."  
  
Vegeta smirked.  
  
Trunks looked at him slyly. "Why. . . you looking for a girlfriend?"  
  
Vegeta blushed, thankful for the darkness that hid it. He scowled. "No!"  
  
"Just asking." Trunks grinned.  
  
"Do *you* have a girlfriend?"  
  
"Not at this time. It's summer, so I don't really see anybody."  
  
"Hn."  
  
____________ ___________  
  
Vegeta had finally gone back to bed shortly after Trunks did. But he was again awoken from sleep, this time by an intense burning from his shoulder.  
  
Vegeta opened his eyes in alarm. Kakkarot was testing the bond. He threw up all his mental shields as strong as they would go, thankful that he'd trained his mind to shield himself somewhat even while he slept.  
  
Kakkarot was strong. Kami, he was strong. He was trying to figure out where this strange mental link had come from. And he was persistent.  
  
'Don't let him know who you are. Don't let him get inside your mind. Don't let him feel anything.' He was sweating, teeth clenched, muscles tense. He squeezed his eyes back shut.  
  
He thought his heart was going to explode, it was beating so hard and so loud.  
  
Then abruptly, the seeking stopped.  
  
Vegeta let out a whooshing gasp on air, panting. He didn't let his guard down for a second. He couldn't. Never again. He never knew when Kakkarot might strike.  
  
Vegeta didn't see how being raised on Earth could change the man's basic nature. He had decided long ago that Kakkarot was intrinsically evil. This one may have fooled everyone else, but not him. It was undoubtably only a matter of time, now that Kakkarot was aware of the bond. He just hadn't had the opportunity before. If he attacked hard enough, he might even be able to link in to Hito, since he and his other self seemed to be tenuously connected.  
  
He couldn't get his heart to be quiet. 


	4. 4

Chapter 4  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
Bulma regarded Vegeta with a worried eye at the breakfast table the next morning. He had dark smudges under his eyes.  
  
"Aren't you sleeping well, Vegeta-chan?" she asked him as she served out the pancakes.  
  
He tensed and stared at his plate. "Fine."  
  
"You haven't been doing anything but training since you got here," Bulma said, her forehead crinkling. "You should take the morning off and go out with Trunks."  
  
"Onna!" Hito protested immediately. "Training is important. He can't waste the time. And Trunks shouldn't either."  
  
"Aw, come on, Dad. We need to meet some people our age. And Vegeta-chan has to try pizza."  
  
"That's right. Hang out at the mall awhile," Bulma suggested. "Take in a movie. I'll give you enough money for lunch."  
  
Vegeta had never "hung out" before. He found himself curious, although part of him felt he should be training.  
  
"Maybe we could find some girls," Trunks whispered to Vegeta.  
  
Vegeta hid a smirk. He didn't particularly want to meet more strange humans, but he would like to try new foods. "OK."  
  
Hito looked disgusted. Vegeta ignored him. "All right," Hito said grumpily, "but after lunch you're both getting the workout of your lives."  
  
"Yes, Dad," the teens chorused. Hito looked at Vegeta with shock. Vegeta smirked.  
  
_______________ ______________  
  
"So," Vegeta said, looking around and trying to maintain his bored expression. "This is a mall."  
  
The mall was huge, two stories, and full of humans of every shape and size. Vegeta supposed that, with his experience of various planets and aliens, he shouldn't be all that overwhelmed, but he was. If he'd been ordered to come here and blow this place up, he wouldn't have had a problem, but to walk around with all these loud, strange humans, to fit himself in and. . . intermingle. . . made him nervous. He kept his tail wrapped tightly around his waist. He also felt very strange wearing Trunks' "human" clothes. He'd been assured that he was in the latest style.  
  
"So now what?" Vegeta asked. "We track for females?"  
  
Trunks grinned at him. "Yeah. Think of it as a hunt."  
  
Vegeta nodded, pricking up his senses.  
  
"We wander casually," Trunks instructed. He set off. Vegeta followed, imitating Trunks' casual walk. It seemed to involve a certain amount of strutting. Well, Vegeta knew how to strut.  
  
"The purpose of a mall is to hunt?" Vegeta queried.  
  
"Um, no, it's to shop for clothes and stuff."  
  
Vegeta's eyes darted back and forth, searching for his prey. "There's one," he said, nodding in the direction of a girl, 16 or so, with long blonde hair.  
  
"Yeah, but she's with her mom. Ideally, we want a couple alone and on the prowl, like us."  
  
"The females are hunting, too?"  
  
"Most are shopping. But some are hunting. And we won't be on the only males hunting, either."  
  
"Ah." Vegeta understood this game now. He smirked.  
  
They continued their wandering. Past a book store, a collection of electronic gadgets, candles, more clothes than anyone could possibly need. . .  
  
"Hey look! A toy store!" Trunks exclaimed, getting completely sidetracked.  
  
Vegeta followed him into the store. "What is the point of this singing gorilla?"  
  
"There is none, really," Trunks replied, heading for the action figure section.  
  
Vegeta's tracking senses, however, suddenly picked up a signal. They were being watched. He turned his head slowly, to meet the admiring gaze of three girls, bunched together and giggling.  
  
He smirked, openly eyeing them back. They appeared to be the correct age, of average attractiveness, alone, and on the prowl. His smirk deepened as he strutted casually over.  
  
The girls giggled some more. One hid behind the other two. The one in front smiled boldly. "Hi."  
  
"Hello, onnas."  
  
"Haven't seen you around before."  
  
"I'm new."  
  
They appraised each other. The first one was 14, with short curly brown hair and dimples. The other was short, 14, with red hair parted in the middle and hanging down all around her face. "Where did your friend go?" that one asked.  
  
"Maybe we should all go see," Vegeta invited.  
  
The shy one poked her head around the second girl's back. She had hair somewhere between blonde and brown, in a loose braid down her back, jade hoop earrings, and dark green eyes. She was 15.  
  
The girls followed Vegeta to the aisle Trunks was in. He looked up from examining super heroes to see them all staring at him.  
  
He smiled somewhat nervously. "Hi."  
  
"Onnas, this is Trunks. I am Vegeta. And you are?"  
  
"Julie," said the bold one.  
  
"Reina," said the redhead.  
  
The shy one looked at her feet, then looked up at Vegeta through her eyelashes. "Becky." Vegeta instantly centered on her as the challenge.  
  
"Are you shopping?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Yes." Julie smiled, displaying her dimples to maximum effect. "Reina needs a new backpack."  
  
"And you?"  
  
"We were going to see the new anime movie out," Trunks replied.  
  
"I don't suppose you were going to do that, too--after you bought your backpack?" Vegeta inserted smoothly.  
  
Julie smiled. Reina giggled. "Could be."  
  
So the 5 teenagers walked casually out of the store together, Trunks smirking and Vegeta inching his way closer to Becky.  
  
_______________ _________________  
  
They sat down in a row in the movie theater, girl-boy-girl-boy-girl. Trunks had a large popcorn but Vegeta thought it looked weird. 'So much for new foods,' he thought ironically.  
  
"Why do my feet stick to the floor?" he asked.  
  
"Movie-goers tend to be messy," Julie answered. "Someone probably spilled their drink."  
  
They were growing used to his strange questions. Trunks had explained that Vegeta was his cousin from Siberia.  
  
Vegeta found himself looking over his shoulder a lot. He didn't like all those people behind them.  
  
"So what's Siberia like?" Becky asked suddenly.  
  
"Cold and barren. And the onnas are nothing compared to you." Becky blushed. Trunks missed his mouth with his popcorn. He tried to imagine his father doing this.  
  
The lights went out as the previews started.  
  
"You sit in the dark in a room full of strangers?" Vegeta demanded.  
  
"It's not like you can't feel their ki."  
  
Vegeta still didn't like the idea. He was also unimpressed with the martial artist abilities of the hero. "I could take this guy out with one ki blast."  
  
"What *is* ki?" Reina wanted to know, but the couple behind them whispered, "Shhh!"  
  
Vegeta turned around in his seat and gave them one of his deadliest stares. They leaned backwards in their seats.  
  
"Stop that!" Trunks whispered, punching him in the shoulder.  
  
Vegeta scowled at Trunks and faced forward again.  
  
He checked the blocks he had up on the bond. He had been monitoring it off and on all day. OK so far.  
  
Julie had her arm pressed up next to his on the armrest. He thought briefly, then moved his leg so his knee was touching Becky's. This was all new and strange to him. He wasn't sure about the proper way to treat his prey, now that it was caught. Becky stiffened minutely, but didn't move her leg.  
  
After the movie, Trunks happily invited the girls to accompany them across the street to Noble Romans, where they serve the best pizza and breadsticks in the world. (A/N: I don't own, but I highly recommend. If you go to IN, check them out.)  
  
The girls looked at each other, then at the boys. They seemed to waver.  
  
"I could invite Goten," Trunks offered.  
  
"OK," Julie said. That would give them a boy each.  
  
Vegeta hid a scowl. He still wasn't crazy about Goten. He should be training right now so he could become stronger than him. Just in case.  
  
Trunks got out his cell phone and called his friend. "Can you convince your mom to let you eat lunch with me? We're at the mall--but don't tell her that part."  
  
Goten agreed to come right over. They all met up at the restaurant. Goten kept grinning bashfully at everyone and scarfing down pizza.  
  
"Goten. How's your father?" Vegeta asked while Julie was trying to eat a slice of Deep Dish Sicilian as seductively as possible.  
  
"Just fine," Goten answered with his mouth full.  
  
"Been sleeping well?"  
  
Trunks' eyes narrowed as he licked cheese off his fingers.  
  
Goten shrugged. "Guess so."  
  
"He mention anything--unusual--happening lately?"  
  
"No." Goten looked puzzled. "Is there?"  
  
Vegeta raised his eyebrows, portraying innocence and snatching the last breadstick from under Goten's fingers. "No."  
  
"What does your father do?" Reina asked Goten.  
  
"He. . ."  
  
"He's unemployed," Vegeta smirked.  
  
"Yeah, well, so's Trunks' dad."  
  
"Our dads are martial artists," Trunks put in hurridly.  
  
"What does your dad do?" Becky asked Vegeta. She had been warming to him steadily.  
  
The other two looked at him. "He--he was in government. But now he's dead."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." And she looked as if she truly was.  
  
Vegeta blinked.  
  
After lunch, there was a general realization from all concerned that if they didn't head home soon, they were going to be in trouble.  
  
Trunks managed to pry Reina's phone number from her just before they left. Julie forcibly wrote her phone number on Goten's palm. Her friends nudged Becky, who blushed, and whispered her number to Vegeta. So the boys were all elated.  
  
They waited until no one was watching to fly home. Goten separated from the other two, who continued on.  
  
"Fun, huh?" Trunks grinned at Vegeta.  
  
"Human women are awfully brazen."  
  
"Huh. You picked the shy one. I'm kind of surprised."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, Mom's definitely *not* shy."  
  
"Face it. There's only one Bulma in this dimension, and your dad's got her. I'm going to have to settle for someone else."  
  
"Oh." Trunks frowned.  
  
Vegeta finally realized what he had felt had been missing all day. Radditz. Radditz would have liked Reina. Maybe even Becky.  
  
"I'm trying to picture what color hair your kids would have if you mated with a red head," Vegeta said suddenly. "Pink maybe." Then he sped up. Trunks chased after him, but couldn't catch him without going Super.  
  
________ ____________  
  
Trunks and Vegeta stood in front of Hito in the GR.  
  
"You've wasted enough time today. Let's get at it."  
  
"But, Dad. Two phone numbers."  
  
Hito paused, then smirked. "Maybe not *completely* wasted."  
  
Hito kept managing to surprise him.  
  
Then he went and turned up the gravity. "Let's see what Vegeta-*chan* is made of."  
  
With the gravity up to 30, Trunks and Hito both attacked Vegeta at once. He grinned.  
  
He couldn't seem to get out of the defensive. He was managing to block most of what they threw at him, but he couldn't get any hits in himself. Plus, he was rapidly growing tired.  
  
He thought maybe his lack of sleep was affecting him after all. He tried to increase his speed.  
  
Trunks threw a roundhouse punch that connected with his nose. Blood spurted as he fell backwards several feet. Hito followed that up with a ki blast that knocked him back into the wall.  
  
He groaned and got back to his feet just as Trunks materialized in front of him and kicked him back down to the floor. Vegeta swept Trunks' legs out from under him, rolled on top of him, and hit him in the face with his hand full of ki. Trunks shoved him off and they both managed to stand again.  
  
He kneed Trunks in the stomach and took to the air, kicking Trunks in the jaw on the way up. Hito met him in mid-air, throwing a punch to his ribs that he was able to partially block, then kicking him in the side.  
  
Vegeta was suddenly painfully aware that he was going to lose this battle. He didn't dare take enough energy away from his mind shields. The solution was obvious; he needed to gain more energy so that he could fight more effectively and still shield himself.  
  
How to do that?  
  
He came back to the fight abruptly as Trunks' fists slammed into his spine and he found himself falling. He swung around to hit the ground feet first and kick himself back up into the air.  
  
He flew right into Trunks, wrapped his arms around his back, pinning him in place, and flew him into the wall. Trunks struck hard, but simply took the impact, shook his head to clear it, and immediately retaliated by grabbing Vegeta's tail as he started to fly away.  
  
It didn't hurt, but it did stop him from leaving. And it made him *very* angry.  
  
Power flowed into him from somewhere as he shouted, "Final Flash!" and let all the power out through his hands.  
  
Trunks' eyes widened but he was far too close to dodge. The attack blew him through a newly created hole in the GR wall and into the side of CC itself.  
  
Vegeta dropped his hands in wonder and dismay. He hadn't expected that at all!  
  
"Very good, brat," came Hito's voice, "but try not to kill your sparring partners. And do you have any idea how furious the onna is going to be about having to fix this?"  
  
Vegeta swallowed hard.  
  
_________ ____________  
  
After Bulma had checked on Trunks and yelled at them for awhile, Trunks sat on the sidelines to rest and Hito and Vegeta continued their training in the yard.  
  
The punches and kicks were flying too fast for anyone but Saiyans to follow, as Vegeta found his new energy had not dissipated. He wondered if anger was a key.  
  
His train of thought was broken as he noticed Hito smirking evilly. "If you're 13, you haven't purged the Planet Rodran yet, which means you don't know this little maneuver. Big Bang Attack!"  
  
Vegeta yelped and threw up his arms as the blast hit him and knocked him to the ground, forming a large crater. He lay there for a minute, panting, and trying to block out the pain. He didn't mind being beaten (much), but that smirk of Hito's was infuriating. He wondered if his own smirk made others feel that way. He certainly hoped so.  
  
He pushed himself slowly to his hands and knees, then made his feet. Then he gave the most dangerous looking smirk he knew how to do. "And you, Vegeta-san, never met Nasu. Fire and Smoke!"  
  
He cupped his hands together in front of his waist, then brought them apart about five inches. A red glow began to build in them as Hito watched with narrowed eyes. Then abruptly the glow brightened to blinding intensity and exploded outward in a huge burst of fire. Hito and Trunks both gasped and stared at the spot as the fire and smoke cleared.  
  
While they were staring, Vegeta appeared behind Hito and knocked him into the blast, then Final Flash'ed him. Smirking all the while.  
  
Trunks started to laugh. Hito stood up again after a moment, a determined scowl on his face. Then he and Vegeta were sparring again.  
  
__________ ________  
  
Over supper, Vegeta would just break out into a smirk every so often. Hito decided he was getting overly cocky. "So," he said in an innocent tone, "are you two brats going to call those girls you picked up today?"  
  
"What's this?" Bulma demanded sharply.  
  
Vegeta stared at his plate. Trunks regretted ever mentioning it to his father. "We got two phone numbers today," Trunks said meekly.  
  
"What do you know about these girls?" Bulma frowned.  
  
"Well, Reina lives in West Capital City and goes to high school there. Her parents own a dry-cleaning business," Trunks reported.  
  
"The Prince of all Saiyans with a drycleaner's daughter?" Hito snorted.  
  
"Yeah, well, Vegeta's girl's dad lives in England and works in a factory!" Trunks scowled, a perfect copy of his dad's own.  
  
"Her parents are divorced," Vegeta explained with a sigh. "She lives next door to Trunks' girl. She is in the school choir and she hates dogs. Her mom is a human resources director--whatever that is--and she has an older sister in college. Her name's Becky."  
  
"And Goten's girl's dad is a chiropractor," Trunks announced. "Her mom is their school nurse. But she wants to get more education and become a gynecologist. Goten didn't know what that was, so she had to explain it!" He and Vegeta both laughed at the memory.  
  
"Well. . . you should invite them over so I can check them out before you go anywhere else with them," Bulma ordered.  
  
Hito smirked. "Yeah, let us check them out."  
  
Vegeta and Trunks exchanged horrified looks.  
  
_________ __________  
  
A/N: OK, let me know what you think. This was a more lighthearted interlude.  
  
Lauryn, that's a very interesting idea. I shall keep it in mind for the future. . . 


	5. 5

The Bite--Chapter 5 By Elbereth in April  
  
Vegeta lay down in his bed and closed his eyes, but he was afraid to sleep. He knew he had to though, if he was going to function.  
  
He tossed and turned for awhile, then sighed. 'I'll just set my shields as high as they can go and hope for the best.'  
  
He finally fell into an uneasy doze. He awoke once to hear the floor creaking as someone passed his door, and again later when an owl hooted outside his window. He fell into a real sleep about 4 AM, and promptly started to dream. . .  
  
___________ ___________  
  
Kakkarot was bowing in front of Frieza, who was sitting on his throne. "Rise," Frieza said.  
  
Kakkarot stood up. "I can still feel him, my lord. It's very faint, but it's there. We're forever linked through the bond. I can trace him that way. We can find him."  
  
Frieza smiled, a delighted, sadistic smile. "Good. Nobody runs out on me. Especially not him."  
  
"As you say, my lord."  
  
"So what planet is he on?"  
  
"That's just it. He's--further away than that. I think he's in another dimension."  
  
"Dead?" Frieza frowned.  
  
"No, sir. Just far away."  
  
Frieza thought about this. "Interesting," he said slowly. "Well. No distance can stop my revenge. I think I know of a way."  
  
Kakkarot smiled.  
  
The dream lost itself in Kakkarot's smile. His smile and his burning, malicious eyes. "I know where you are, Vegeta. I will find you. You're mine, now. You can never get away."  
  
His laughter and his eyes filled Vegeta's head. Vegeta screamed.  
  
"All mine. . ."  
  
He screamed again, then was suddenly awake. His eyes snapped open. He was on the floor, trembling and covered in sweat. The bite mark felt as if acid had been poured on it, eating its way through the bone and muscle of his shoulder. He choked back a sob.  
  
"No," he said. "No!"  
  
The door burst open and Bulma ran in, followed by Trunks, who hovered in the doorway. Bulma came and knelt beside him, all concern. She ran a hand over his sweaty forehead. "Are you OK?"  
  
He looked up at her. "It can't be real!"  
  
"What can't be?"  
  
He blinked. 'Oh kami, please let it not have been real.' He was still shaking. "I--I'm fine. I just--it was a dream."  
  
Then Hito was standing behind Trunks, scowling at him. He could hear Lord Frieza say, "Never show weakness." He remembered Hito's voice, "Don't disgrace me, brat."  
  
Oh kami. He had to get away from them. "I'm going to the bathroom," he muttered, and bolted out of Bulma's arms and into that sanctuary, locking the door.  
  
"Come on. We go back to sleep," Hito ordered them.  
  
"But, Vegeta," Bulma protested.  
  
"He's not going to share his private life with you. Come on."  
  
They went, but Bulma was still clearly worried.  
  
Inside the bathroom, Vegeta stared at himself in the mirror. He had pulled his shirt off and was running his fingers over and over the bite. His mind was in a haze of panic. 'If I get rid of the bite. . . would it get rid of the bond?'  
  
He ripped open the medicine cabinet. He knew he'd seen a razor in there. He took the blade and set it against the mark on his shoulder.  
  
__________ ____________  
  
Hito sat back up in bed abruptly, a throbbing ache running through his shoulder. "What is it now?" Bulma cried.  
  
Hito frowned. "Stay here. Onna, don't argue!" He left and stalked back to the guest room. His other self must still be in the bathroom. He pounded on the door. "What are you up to, brat? Open the door!"  
  
Vegeta gasped and dropped the razor. He'd run it over and over the mark, but it was still there. It hadn't done anything except make his skin bleed. And it had hurt like anything.  
  
"Do you hear me?" Hito was yelling just outside the door. He must have felt it, then. The bite was still burning, even through the new pain of the other. He dabbed at the blood with toilet paper and threw the razor back in the cabinet. Hito knocked again.  
  
"Dad, what's going on?" Now Trunks was out there, too.  
  
"I'll break the door down," Hito threatened.  
  
Vegeta pulled his shirt back on. How well had he hidden the evidence?  
  
"1. . . 2. . ."  
  
He pulled the door open and stared at the other two Saiyans. "What?" He tried to look as blank as possible.  
  
Hito scowled darkly and started to speak, when all at once, Goku appeared in the room behind them. Vegeta felt himself flush and then go pale as his pulse speeded up again.  
  
"Goku! What are you doing here?" Trunks was getting more and more confused.  
  
Hito walked over and stared Goku in the face. "Good question. Why *are* you here, Kakkarot?"  
  
He expected that sheepish grin but Goku didn't give it. He looked completely serious. "I don't know, Vegeta. I just felt like something was wrong. I can't explain it."  
  
Hito looked back at Vegeta, missing the way Goku rubbed his shoulder.  
  
Vegeta drew in his breath. Of course he would have felt it, too! "I just had a nightmare, OK? I must have projected it really strongly or something. You were probably sensitive enough to pick it up. That Piccolo guy probably heard it, too. But everything's fine."  
  
All three stared at him. Hito didn't seem to believe him. But Trunks sighed and said, "I'm going back to bed." And he did.  
  
Hito looked back over at Goku again. "You can go home now. You're not needed here."  
  
Goku and Vegeta's eyes locked. Every muscle in his body tightened. There was the faintest of pressures batting at the very outside of his mind, and a rush of energy through the bond, like blood through a vein. Vegeta stood very still and tried to keep his breathing steady but it was one of the hardest things he'd ever done.  
  
After an agonizingly long moment, Goku looked away and smiled at Hito. "All right. I'm going." He pressed two fingers to his forehead and vanished.  
  
Vegeta slumped against the door, his nerves shot. His tail unwound and flicked around. But he still had Hito to face.  
  
Hito's eyes flickered to his collarbone, where the blood was starting to seep through his shirt. But then he shook his head, apparently still puzzled. "Try not to disturb us all again," he said dryly, and left as well.  
  
Vegeta slid down the wall to the floor and buried his face in his arms. How could he fight *everybody*? How long could he hide the mark? If only he could think straight--and sleep without dreaming!  
  
'Oh kami, please, it has to be a dream.'  
  
He wished he could weep.  
  
_________ __________  
  
The lawn outside CC now contained two picnic tables heaped with food. Bulma, Chi-Chi, Trunks, Goten, Vegeta, their newly met girlfriends, and surprisingly, Hito, were all sitting around the tables, preparing to dine.  
  
The adults were, in fact, at one table and the teens at the other, but they still felt nervous and under scrutiny. However, they were determined to enjoy themselves. Except for Vegeta, who was wondering what in the world he'd gotten himself into.  
  
Last night hadn't been mentioned again. Vegeta certainly wasn't going to bring it up. He had pushed it all into a far corner of his mind and tried to pretend it hadn't happened. Surely, surely it had been a dream, anyway. Right now he was going to concentrate on this strange luncheon.  
  
Vegeta had very little experience with females, or humans, and very little idea of how to have fun in a "normal" human way, He was fully conscious of Hito eavesdropping on them with a sightly amused, slightly disdainful expression. What was worse, Kakkarot's mate sat right over there and she utterly confused him.  
  
He had thought Bulma and Hito were going to embarrass them, but it was Chi- Chi who had fussed over her son and given the girls piercing looks and interrogated them with so many questions, he was surprised they hadn't fled. So far Hito had mostly just smirked knowingly in the background. All three girls had secretly and longingly checked him out.  
  
Just when he had decided Chi-Chi was uptight, ballistic, and scary, she had calmed down and been rational, smiling, and. . . normal. How in the world had she and Kakkarot ended up bonded, anyway? Did she love him?  
  
Vegeta realized Julie was speaking to him. "I can't believe how much you look like your uncle, Vegeta."  
  
"Yes. Well, that's why I was named after him."  
  
"Is he your mother's brother or your father's?" Becky asked.  
  
"Father's," he answered after a pause.  
  
Goten was looking back and forth at them, frowning. "But Vegeta. . ."  
  
Trunks kicked him under the table.  
  
"We got sidetracked last time and never asked you about your mother," Becky said conversationally to Vegeta.  
  
Vegeta tensed. He didn't like all these personal questions, especially in front of Hito, especially about his mother. "What about her?"  
  
"What does she do?"  
  
Trunks shifted uncomfortably, aware of Vegeta's tension and his father's sudden straight back and pricked ears. "She's dead, too," he answered for him. "That's why he's living with us now."  
  
All three girls murmured condolences. Vegeta lost his appetite. Reina was going to change the subject, but Goten, who had wanted to know for a long time, asked, "I know about your dad, but how did your mother die? How old were you?"  
  
Vegeta glared at him. "I was 3. She was assassinated."  
  
Hito stood up so fast he almost knocked the bench over. "Can I talk to you a minute, brat." It was not a request but a command.  
  
Vegeta put down his fork and followed him to the porch.  
  
"What do you mean, she was assassinated?" he demanded, scowling deeply.  
  
"They found her in her room one morning, dead. She'd been poisoned. They never caught the assassin. That's all Father ever told me before. . . before he died, too."  
  
"Hn." A pause. "Do you have memories of her?"  
  
Vegeta swallowed hard. "A few."  
  
"My mother died giving birth to me, brat."  
  
They stared at one another.  
  
"Tell me."  
  
Vegeta looked at the ground. Was Hito actually being sentimental? Or just trying to figure out why the timelines once again differed? He couldn't very well ask.  
  
"Just--someone singing. And dark eyes. And trying to walk, and seeing a hand reaching, and her smiling across the room. I suppose it was her." He really didn't like to talk about her.  
  
Hito grunted. Vegeta looked up. Hito was staring at Bulma, with no real expression. Bulma was watching them, looking worried. "Vegeta?"   
  
"Everything's fine." Partially a lie.  
  
Vegeta felt something surge through their bond. Love, pure and deep, sent from Bulma to Hito, so strong he felt it, too. Hito half-smiled.  
  
"Finish eating, brat." He went back to his table.  
  
'So Hito has feelings after all,' Vegeta mused. 'Huh. Well. . . he still intimidates me.' Vegeta sighed, deliberately pushed thoughts of his mother away, and sat back down with the others.  
  
Becky gave him a worried look not unlike Bulma's. It made Vegeta feel slightly better.  
  
They were still all very curious, but the subject wasn't mentioned again.  
  
"We're talking about our hobbies," Reina told him. "What are yours, Vegeta?"  
  
He couldn't say purging planets, keeping out of Kakkarot's way, and training to destroy Frieza. "Martial arts."  
  
"That's what your friends both said," Reina laughed.  
  
Trunks smirked. "Goten also said eating."  
  
"That's not very well-rounded. Don't you have any other interests?" Julie wanted to know.  
  
The boys thought. "Astronomy," Vegeta said finally. "And flying."  
  
"Meditation," Trunks added.  
  
"Anime and comics and video games!"  
  
"The theory of gravity."  
  
"Science."  
  
"Dragons!"  
  
"Hunting," Vegeta finished with a smirk that made Trunks laugh.  
  
The girls appeared to be trying to take all this in. The adults looked on in amusement.  
  
__________ _________  
  
After the girls left, Chi-Chi and Goten went home, too. Trunks and Vegeta went inside to play video games. Vegeta found them intriguing. He had become semi-addicted to Tekken.  
  
He was waiting for his turn when he felt suddenly puzzled, shocked, and giddy in rapid succession. Except it wasn't him feeling it, he realized, but Hito. What was going on?  
  
Hito and Bulma burst into the room a few minutes later, Hito smirking and Bulma glowing. "Guess what!" she exclaimed, laughing and crying at the same time. "I'm pregnant!"  
  
The boys just about fell over. Then Trunks jumped to his feet, ran over, and hugged his mom. "I can't believe it!"  
  
Vegeta gazed at Hito. He seemed genuinely pleased. He felt a smile forming, and let it. "Congratulations."  
  
"Did you just find out?" Trunks asked.  
  
Bulma nodded. "Your father can feel the baby's ki inside me! Isn't that amazing? He even knows she's a girl!"  
  
"A girl?" Trunks looked displeased at first, then smiled. "Aw! A cute little chibi with Vegeta's face and a dress!"  
  
Both Vegeta's frowned. "Show some respect," Hito retorted.  
  
Trunks kept smiling. "And purple hair!"  
  
Vegeta laughed. Hito turned the frown on him. "Hey, they're your brats," Vegeta smirked.  
  
_________ ___________  
  
After training with an unusually lenient Hito, eating supper, and being told quite bluntly to stay downstairs for the next few hours, Vegeta and Trunks continued their game of Tekken well into the night.  
  
"So what do you think of your mom having a baby?" Vegeta asked finally.  
  
"It's a shock," Trunks replied. "But now that I'm getting used to the idea, I can't say I mind. Having a little sister might be nice. Take some pressure off me to fulfill the dreams of both my parents and grandparents all by myself."  
  
"Hn. What kind of dreams?"  
  
"Running Capsule Corporation and being the strongest fighter in the universe. You get to share in that last one. Ah, man!" Jin had just died in the game.  
  
Vegeta shrugged. "Of course. I have every intention of becoming the strongest fighter in the universe."  
  
Trunks watched Kuzuya fight on-screen. "What do you think of Becky?"  
  
"Oh, she's not bad. For a human. And Reina?" His eyes flicked to Trunks and back to the game.  
  
"I like her. I like Hatsu back at school better, though." He grinned. "You should see her play soccer."  
  
Vegeta snorted. "You need a Saiyan woman. How about Pan?"  
  
"She's two years old! You can have her!"  
  
"I'll stick with Becky for now. She's quiet."  
  
There was a pause. Then Trunks frowned. "I hope you didn't mind what Goten said," he began awkwardly. "He didn't mean anything."  
  
Another quick glance. "I don't like him. I know you do. But he's too. . . oblivious. I don't trust him."  
  
Trunks sighed. His best friend and his new. . . brother or cousin or friend- -what was he? Anyway, they didn't get along, which was depressing, but not surprising. After all, he was also his father.  
  
He looked at the clock. "Did you know it's after 2 AM?"  
  
Vegeta was glad. He was putting off sleep. He needed it badly but he was afraid to dream.  
  
"Goten likes Hatsu, too," Trunks added as an afterthought.  
  
Kuzuya fought on.  
  
___________ ___________  
  
4 AM. Vegeta was doing sit-ups on the floor beside his bed. His whole body craved sleep.  
  
5 AM. He made himself a sandwich and flipped through an issue of "Career Women," figuring he was at an all-time low. He ate a second sandwich.  
  
Push-ups. More Tekken. Science Mystery Theatre on T.V. A sunrise that turned the whole sky yellow, orange, and pink. He sat on the roof in baggy sweatpants and a faded T-shirt, bare feet poking at the roof tiles. It was already getting warm.  
  
7:30 AM. He heard the hum of the gravity machine starting up. That would, of course, be Hito.  
  
7:48 AM. Kami, what was he going to do?  
  
8 AM. Time to sneak back to his room and pretend he'd slept all night. He could officially "wake up" now.  
  
He was going to have to sleep, one of these nights. Until then, he'd get by.  
  
____________ ____________  
  
A/N: OK, I fudged with the ages of Pan and Bra a bit, but don't let it upset you. It's better this way. 


	6. 6

The Bite--Ch. 6  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
A/N: A big thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! I'm paying attention to you. Yes, Kakkarot *will* be coming to Earth, but we have to resolve a few things yet. Be patient for a couple more chapters. It will be worth the wait.  
  
Vegeta spent two hours training on the front lawn, until the rest of the house woke up. He could smell breakfast cooking, he was right under the kitchen window. Just then it opened and Bunny's head poked out. "Hi, Vegeta- chan!"  
  
He nodded at her.  
  
"Want some orange juice?"  
  
"OK." He walked over and she handed him a glass through the window. He took a long sip.  
  
"Food'll be ready in about half-an-hour. So, how are you doing, Vegeta- chan? Do you like it here at CC?"  
  
He snorted. "Compared to where I was? It's wonderful."  
  
"But how are you? Really?"  
  
He almost broke down and told her. That's how low he had sunk. He choked it back. "Fine."  
  
Bunny shook her head. "So much like Vegeta-san. Don't want to admit to any problems."  
  
Vegeta drank more juice, staring at her warily.  
  
"Well, you be smarter than him. You let us know if anything is wrong, all right?" She giggled.  
  
"Sure," he lied, draining the glass and handing it back to her.  
  
"I need to get back to cooking!" She giggled again and withdrew her head from the window.  
  
He turned away and stared out across the lawn. He didn't understand any of these people! Were humans just weird? Had he lost his perceptiveness? Was it something in the water?  
  
He half-way smiled at himself, then frowned. He shouldn't be worrying about settling in until he knew if that dream was real. He had to go Super Saiyan. He had to break that bond. He had to be strong. If only he could figure out how to do any of that!  
  
If anger and strength were the only keys to transforming, Hito should have been able to kill Frieza. And how had Trunks and Goten managed it? Trunks said they had just done it one day when they were merely brats. It was maddening.  
  
He checked his mind shields one more time. Everything seemed to be OK.  
  
Only 4 more days to the stupid party the onna had insisted on throwing. He was dreading it, and not just because he was naturally anti-social. He would have to face Kakkarot again. A Kakkarot who was growing suspicious-- who may even have already figured out that the two of them were linked.  
  
All of a sudden he desperately wanted to kill somebody, to purge this whole worthless planet, to blow it to ashes, and rid himself of. . . only it wouldn't. Not if the dream was real.  
  
Could Frieza possibly find a way to travel to the future? He felt nauseous. He clutched his stomach, as his tail flicked back and forth.  
  
The window opened again. "Breakfast is ready early!" Bunny called in her cheerful voice. "You must be hungry!" She smiled--she'd caught him still holding his stomach.  
  
"Yeah." He gave a sickly half-smirk, wanting nothing more than to curl up in a ball and die.  
  
Instead he wrapped his tail around his waist, straightened his back, put on his blankest expression, and went inside to the kitchen table.  
  
Fortunately, everyone was so caught up in the amazement of Bulma's pregnancy they didn't notice his pale face or how little he ate. Hito and Bulma were in a fierce argument over what to name the baby.  
  
"Bra? You want to name a poor, defenseless brat Bra?"  
  
"It's the family tradition."  
  
"It's kind of--suggestive, don't you think?" Trunks worried.  
  
"Nonsense!" Dr. Briefs smiled happily and cluelessly. "She should be proud to be a Briefs!"  
  
"I refuse to allow it," Hito growled. "Bad enough you named the boy Trunks instead of Vegeta the 24th. . ."  
  
"Oh, hush," Bulma interrupted. "Trunks is a good name."  
  
Trunks rolled his eyes.  
  
"I kind of like Bra myself," Bunny put in.  
  
Hito threw up his hands in disgust.  
  
"What would you name her, Papa?"  
  
He frowned, thinking. "I don't know. . . how about Gurinpisu?"  
  
"You like that better than Bra?"  
  
Hito kicked Vegeta's chair under the table. "Back me up, brat."  
  
Vegeta looked up from his plate. "It's a good Saiyan name," he said obediently. "You could always call her Su for short."  
  
"How about Brapisu? Then Mom could call her Bra and I could call her Su and Dad could call her Peas."  
  
"We're going to have to give this some consideration," said Bulma.  
  
_________ _________  
  
Shortly after breakfast, Vegeta went to Hito. "Want to train now?"  
  
Hito smirked. "Stupid question. Gather up Trunks and let's go."  
  
They had the gravity up to 40 Gs now. "Tell me how to turn Super Saiyan," Vegeta demanded after they'd warmed up.  
  
Trunks and Hito looked at each other.  
  
"You need to be angry," Hito told him. "Very angry. Righteous anger is good. Or really hating somebody."  
  
"I am. I do. But I haven't transformed yet." The frustration was clear in his voice.  
  
Trunks frowned. "Maybe you have a mental block."  
  
Vegeta's eyes went wide as he digested this. Could Kakkarot have put some sort of stopper into his mind to hold him back? To prevent his transformation? But he wasn't sure that Kakkarot even believed in the legend. He probably wouldn't have thought to do so.  
  
Hito sighed softly. This version of himself wasn't finding it any easier than he had. "Watch," he instructed, and transformed. Then he switched back to normal. "Like that."  
  
Vegeta stared at him.  
  
"Let's turn it up to 50 Gs."  
  
They sparred for awhile. Hito taught him the Big Bang Attack. He watched Vegeta and Trunks spar and gave them pointers on strategy and technique.  
  
"Maybe--you know--you're trying *too* hard," Trunks suggested.  
  
They stopped for a breather. Trunks wiped his face with a towel and flicked some hair out of his face. Vegeta turned to stare at Hito. "How did you first do it?"  
  
Hito shrugged and gave a bitter half-smirk. "I realized who I really hated."  
  
They locked gazes. Instinctively, Vegeta knew he was talking about himself. He crossed his arms and stared at the ground. As Bulma had said earlier-- this would require some consideration.  
  
_________ ___________  
  
Around 3:00 Bulma cornered Vegeta for his measurements so she could buy him some new clothes. She didn't want him running around in "nothing but cast- offs." He endured this with a scowl. Just as they were done the doorbell rang, so they traipsed downstairs to see who had come by.  
  
Gohan. "Hey Bulma, hey Vegeta. I came by for that crime-fighting equipment you mentioned to Videl."  
  
"Oh, sure. I'll go get it." She smiled and left the room.  
  
Gohan smiled at Vegeta, who was standing stiffly across the room. "Plus I wanted to see if Vegeta-san was up for a spar. But don't tell Videl."  
  
Vegeta frowned. Was he keeping secrets from his mate? He shook his head. "Bulma just got him to stop sparring with Trunks and me, to get changed to take her somewhere. She'll probably be pretty mad if you distract him."  
  
Gohan pouted just a little in disappointment. Vegeta smirked. He held an internal debate, then shrugged. "I'll fight you."  
  
Gohan's face lit up. "GR?"  
  
"Lawn." No way was he going to lock himself into an enclosed room with Kakkarot's brat.  
  
They powered up and stared at each other over Bunny's flower beds. Vegeta felt his heart sink as he registered Gohan's power. He was amazingly strong- -and he didn't even seem to realize it.  
  
'Well, here goes nothing.' He attacked, finding to his surprise that his opponent, while strong, seemed a little rusty, as if training was something he only got around to doing on weekends anymore, and didn't put too much into.  
  
Vegeta smirked. Nothing like exploiting a weakness. They battled it out for awhile, til the flowers were long-since trampled and both were feeling pretty tired out.  
  
A glance of mutual agreement had them both pausing, pretending like they didn't need a break.  
  
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. Gohan was staring. "What?"  
  
"I was just remembering the first time I met your--the other Vegeta."  
  
"When?"  
  
"He and Nappa landed on Earth to kill everybody and take the dragonballs."  
  
"He mentioned it. He didn't say you were there." Vegeta stared back at him intently, keeping his defenses high.  
  
Gohan chuckled. "Yeah. I was 6 at the time. I even fought against them. Vegeta-san would have won if I hadn't gone Oozaru and fallen on him."  
  
Vegeta frowned. "Wouldn't he have been Oozaru, too?"  
  
"Nah, Yajoribe snuck up behind him and cut off his tail."  
  
"That explains it. I hadn't wanted to ask." He had to stop himself from placing his hands over his tail protectively. "What a wretched, nasty creature. How was he killed?"  
  
"He wasn't."  
  
Vegeta was truly surprised. "Hito never killed him?"  
  
Gohan shook his head.  
  
"That's--unbelievable."  
  
"Well, things were different after Namek."  
  
Vegeta waited. Gohan smiled, knowing he wanted to know but wouldn't ask.  
  
"I went to Namek with Krillin and Bulma," Gohan explained. "Vegeta was already there. So was Frieza--and his men. They were killing the Namekians, gathering up the dragonballs. Vegeta wanted to get the dragonballs for himself, wish for immortality, and kill Frieza. We were trying to stop them both and wish our dead friends back to life.  
  
"Unfortunately, Frieza was way stronger than we were. Eventually we met up with Vegeta again, and when the Ginyu Force showed up, we joined forces to defeat them and Frieza. Things were still looking pretty bad until my dad showed up. He'd been training in 100 times gravity for six days, while traveling in his ship to the planet. When he got there, he was incredibly strong! Anyway, between us, we beat the Ginyu Force, but Frieza was another story. My dad was injured, and Frieza attacked while he was recovering and unable to fight. Vegeta was doing really good against him in his first form, but after Frieza transformed, we were no match for him.  
  
"He has four forms, you know." He looked over at Vegeta.  
  
Vegeta swallowed. He hadn't known. "How strong. . ."  
  
"Power level 1 million."  
  
Vegeta's eyes widened before he calmed himself back down.  
  
"Krillin and I gave it up, but by then Dad was OK and joined us. Well, even Dad was getting beat. . ." Vegeta frowned at his wording. ". . . until Frieza killed Krillin. Well, he and Dad have been best friends forever, so that really upset him. Plus, he couldn't bear the thought of Frieza killing me or destroying Earth. So he transformed into Super Saiyan for the first time."  
  
Rage and hate again. And sorrow, too. There was a common pattern. Death. . .  
  
"Happily, Frieza couldn't stand against a Super Saiyan. It was still a hard fight, but Dad won."  
  
"And where was I all this time?"  
  
Gohan blinked, suddenly looking decidedly uncomfortable. "You were dead," he answered after a pause. "Frieza killed you just after Dad woke up."  
  
Blood began to pound in his ears.  
  
"You were wished back by the dragonballs. . . Vegeta?"  
  
Vegeta looked up, face pale, eyes black and narrowed, flashing with deadly intent. "Go home. Spawn of Kakkarot."  
  
Gohan decided suddenly that might be a very good idea. "S-sure thing, Vegeta. I'll just go and get Bulma's invention that I came for, and leave, OK?" He scratched his head nervously, walking away backwards.  
  
Vegeta's aura flared and he turned and jogged inside. Vegeta sat down on the lawn, not even sure what all he was feeling. So. Not only had somebody else killed Frieza, but Frieza had killed him. His breathing sped up. He clenched his hands in the ground, uprooting grass and dirt.  
  
'How did I die?' he wondered. 'Did Frieza drag it out? How painful was it? Did Kakkarot smile?'  
  
___________ ___________  
  
9 PM. He was sitting on the roof. Hito and Bulma were still out--"on a date," Bunny had whispered, giggling--and Trunks was talking to Reina on the phone. He'd retreated, to listen to voices in his head.  
  
"I realized who I really hated."  
  
"I'm not the one who killed Frieza, am I?"  
  
"You were dead."  
  
"Our destiny rests in your hands, my son. You must become a Super Saiyan someday. You have the potential."  
  
"You call yourself a Prince. If I was a member of such a weak, miserable race, I wouldn't admit it. And you go around calling yourself the leader of them! Prince of the Monkeys!"  
  
"You won't be able to keep me out forever, ouji-sama. Some day I'll slip in. . . through some vulnerable door. . . and once I'm in your mind, Prince, you won't be able to get me out."  
  
Sweat ran down his face. Kakkarot had held one arm and Zarbon the other, and Frieza was coming closer and closer. And Kakkarot was whispering in his mind.  
  
They were right. They were all of them right.  
  
He was weak and pathetic. He let Frieza beat him and kill him. He couldn't transform into a Super Saiyan when an 8-year-old could. He'd let his father and his people die and his planet be destroyed. He'd been drugged. He couldn't even win a spar against a Namek. And Kakkarot. . . he'd let Kakkarot. . .  
  
Oh, kami. And now he was powerless to prevent this Kakkarot from doing the same thing.  
  
Hito was right. Who better deserved hatred and loathing?  
  
His eyes closed as his soul swam in an ocean of darkness. The rising tide of it was washing him away, was sure to drown him.  
  
His hair flickered gold, once.  
  
His twitching tail slapped him in the thigh, and he grabbed hold of it with one hand, unconsciously tightening his grip. Disciplined elite or not, the pain of it jarred through all his nerves and he involuntarily moaned aloud. His eyes slid open to stare at the sky, which seemed to whirl around his head.  
  
His hair flickered again, as his eyes briefly flashed teal.  
  
And wouldn't everyone hate him if he told? If they knew the depths of his failure and degradation?  
  
Too much. . . it was all too much. . .  
  
He screamed, his power spiking one more time, and then plummeting to almost nothing. He drew in shaky, ragged breaths.  
  
There was no way to sever a bond. None.  
  
Trunks rose up above the edge of the roof and stared at him. "Vegeta-chan? Are you OK?"  
  
The wild look in Vegeta's eyes answered for him. His hand clenched again, nearly breaking the bones of his tail. Trunks instinctively felt this was a bad sign.  
  
"Hand," Trunks commanded. "Give me your hand." When Vegeta just stared in confusion, Trunks insisted, "That hand. Hold it up."  
  
Bemused, Vegeta did so, letting go of his tail. Trunks hid a sigh of relief. Vegeta didn't even notice the lessening of pain.  
  
"OK. So." A 15-year-old boy with an ultra-macho father was not equipped for this. "Um. Are you hungry?"  
  
But Vegeta was recovering rapidly. He'd been forced to keep on living many a time when he would have preferred not to. "Adjust and hide it" was second nature.  
  
"We're fast running out of meat," Trunks continued. "Maybe tomorrow we could go hunting. Really hunting, I mean. Last time Papa and I brought home some great bear, and some dinosaur. Mom wouldn't eat it."  
  
"Hunting," Vegeta repeated in a mostly normal voice.  
  
"Uh huh. Goten likes fishing better. . ." Trunks cursed himself for mentioning Goten when Vegeta's darkened. ". . . but Papa and I would rather hunt. But for now, we've got more ice cream in the freezer. Moose tracks."  
  
"Moose ice cream?"  
  
"Not really. . . it's just called that."  
  
"I'd rather have more of those blackies."  
  
"Brownies," Trunks grinned. "With hot fudge on top?"  
  
Vegeta nodded. Trunks kept grinning, feeling relieved. Now Vegeta was acting more normal. "OK. Come on."  
  
____________ ___________  
  
A pan of brownies and a *lot* of coffee kept Vegeta awake until nearly 4 AM, but when the caffeine/sugar high ran off, he felt so exhausted he knew he'd *have* to attempt to sleep.  
  
He realized he was afraid to dream alone, and afraid to have anyone overhear him. He paced the hallway outside his bedroom, not knowing what to do.  
  
He *knew* he had been completely silent, but the door to his left opened and Hito came out. "*What* is your problem, brat?" he demanded with a scowl.  
  
Vegeta flushed deeply and cast his eyes to the floor. Hito looked at him for a long, searching moment. Then he grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him over to one of the other guest bedrooms. He shoved him towards the twin bed by the bathroom, then threw himself into the bed under the window. He deliberately turned his back to him and almost immediately was asleep again.  
  
Vegeta lay in the other bed, listening to Hito's breathing, tears stinging his eyes. It was probably one of the kindest things anybody had ever done for him.  
  
With a tiny smile on his face, he finally drifted to sleep. 


	7. 7

The Bite--Chapter 7  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
  
  
Sometime around 8 AM, Hito had gone to train and relocated Trunks to his bed. A little before 10:00, Trunks woke up, totally confused as to how he'd changed rooms in the night. Vegeta woke up when he heard Trunks stumbling around the room.  
  
"Where am I?" Trunks mumbled sleepily.  
  
"Earth," Vegeta responded seriously.  
  
Trunks rubbed his eyes, smiled, and dismissed the whole problem. "I can't believe they let us sleep so late. Usually one parent or the other would be yelling."  
  
Vegeta stretched languidly and stood up on the bed. He could see the woods from this window. He wanted to fight that Piccolo again soon. He looked at Trunks. "Hunting?"  
  
Trunks smiled wider. "Yeah."  
  
__________ ____________  
  
Hito declined going hunting; if Vegeta hadn't known better, he would have thought Hito was ignoring him, worried that last night he'd shown too much weak human sympathy. Well, perhaps it was likely.  
  
Vegeta didn't care. He and Trunks gathered what they'd need and flew off to an unpopulated, primitive island full of interesting game. Hunting put Vegeta in his element, and he had a fine time.  
  
Trunks was impressed with his skill. "You're an extraordinary stalker."  
  
"I should think so," Vegeta smirked. "I'm good in an ambush, too."  
  
"No wonder you brought back those girls."  
  
Vegeta walked arrogantly to where his latest catch was lying. "That tyrannosaurus never knew what hit him. And neither did they. My charm overwhelmed them."  
  
Trunks laughed. "Charm?"  
  
"Well. . . magnetism, then."  
  
Trunks wasn't sure if he could debate that. "Well, *I've* got Royal Saiyan blood in me, too. Don't get too full of yourself."  
  
An eyebrow quirked. "Is that a challenge?"  
  
After a quite enjoyable spar, they had to wait until the animals they'd scared away returned. "You're getting stronger every day, Vegeta," Trunks remarked.  
  
"Am I?"  
  
"Yep." Trunks felt rather proud of his father's double. He bet Papa was, too, even if he'd never admit it.  
  
"Good," Vegeta muttered. "Niawa thala undutu."  
  
"Only the strong survive," Trunks murmured.  
  
____________ ____________  
  
The coyote they ate on the island. The bear, T-rex, and pterodactyl they took home to share with Hito (and Dr. Briefs, who accidentally ate some of the flying dinosaur without noticing).  
  
Before they left, they went for a swim in a sparkling lake that was too inviting to pass up. Trunks floated lazily on his back while Vegeta swam along the very bottom. When he came up for air, Trunks asked, "Were you trying to go Super yesterday?"  
  
Vegeta tensed and treaded water next to him. "Hai."  
  
"You will get it. Don't worry."  
  
"How does your mother's time machine work?"  
  
Trunks frowned at the apparent complete change of subject. "You should really ask her."  
  
"But--do you know how hard it was to invent?"  
  
"Very hard. But she's a genius."  
  
"Not the only genius in the universe."  
  
Trunks shaded his eyes from the sun and watched Vegeta. "No."  
  
Vegeta watched the waves form around his moving limbs.  
  
"Vegeta. . ."  
  
"What?" in his most closed-off tone.  
  
". . . never mind."  
  
_____________ _____________  
  
Training that evening was interrupted by an irate Bulma who had been craving hot fudge and salami. "Who ate all the hot fudge?" she shrieked.  
  
Trunks and Vegeta looked at each other, then both pointed at the innocent Hito.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
Their argument died down into smoldering, suggestive looks, whereupon the boys hastily left the GR. "I can't believe Hito is so--so. . ."  
  
"Carnal?"  
  
Vegeta laughed.  
  
When the phone rang an hour later, it was Vegeta's conquest, Becky. "Hi, Vegeta."  
  
He was taken totally by surprise. "Um. Hi."  
  
"How are you?"  
  
"Fine. You?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
He frantically tried to think of something to say.  
  
"You know what?" she spoke first. "My mother's cousin knows you and your family. His name's Yamcha. He said he and your aunt used to date. Isn't that wild?"  
  
"Very." Yamcha, huh? He filed that away.  
  
"So, um, do you want to do something this weekend?" she asked, clearly nervous.  
  
There was only a small amount of regret when he shook his head. "I'm going to be busy training for awhile."  
  
"Training? For what?"  
  
"A fight."  
  
There was a lengthy pause. "Oh. Well I guess I'll see you around then."  
  
"Yeah." They hung up.  
  
_____________ _____________  
  
Trunks and Vegeta finished another late night round of Tekken. Vegeta hesitated in front of his door, looking over at the guest room. It was empty.  
  
He went inside his room and changed into old sweatpants. They were faded at the knees, but for sleeping it didn't matter.  
  
Sleeping. He stared at the bed. He hadn't dreamed last night. Maybe he was cured. It was only midnight. Maybe he could get a full night's rest.  
  
He brushed lightly along the bond, just a feather touch. Kakkarot was squirming under a scolding from his mate. Vegeta found that highly ironic. Kakkarot had his own worries then. He was going to bed.  
  
____________ __________  
  
Radditz stood in front of him, facing someone off to his right. He looked tired, but pleased about something. "You're alive. We weren't sure. . ."  
  
Nasu. He was talking to Nasu. She looked taller, more mature. "I escaped Frieza's ship the night he tried to send me to his breeding pens. I've been running and hiding ever since. But what are you doing here?"  
  
He grimaced. "Running and hiding, too. They're after the Prince. I have to warn him. But I don't know where he is."  
  
Nasu smiled. "I may be able to help."  
  
The dream shifted.  
  
"It was him. I know it was him."  
  
Nappa didn't want to believe. "They say it was a meteorite."  
  
"You think the King couldn't have stopped a chunk of asteroid? You think Bardock couldn't have?"  
  
"I heard. . . I heard my father was acting strange lately," said Radditz in a low voice.  
  
Vegeta just shook his head angrily. "It was Frieza. I know it."  
  
"But he promised us," Nappa whined.  
  
"You trust in his word, Nappa? After all this time? You're a fool if you do."  
  
Radditz looked at him, eyes uncommonly bright with unshed tears. "My brother was offworld on a mission. He's still alive. Maybe there were others. . ."  
  
"Just one. Nasu. Zarbon said so."  
  
"Well, there you go. You can marry her and repopulate another planet," Nappa said.  
  
Radditz and Vegeta just looked at him.  
  
Another shift. He was sitting next to Radditz on his friend's bed, listening to him vent. "He's not my brother anymore. Frieza owns him. Vegeta, I don't understand it! How did this happen?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"I can't stand to even look at him now. I don't know him. My own brother!"  
  
They'd tried to win him back at first. They'd tried being reasonable, they'd tried being gentle. Then they'd yelled some, and tried to knock some sense into him. But even then they'd held back.  
  
That was a mistake.  
  
"You see. Attachments *are* weaknesses."  
  
Yes. And *everyone* was a potential enemy.  
  
The scene misted over, became mist and light. He was in a communal shower room on a ship flying toward Frieza's base. The mirrors were fogged over, but he wasn't looking in them anyway. He was looking down at the three bloody wounds scratched across his stomach. He was watching the blood seep down until it splashed on the floor. He supposed he should do something about it, but the room seemed so warm, and his body seemed so warm, and the blood was warm, too, so it all seemed right.  
  
There were suddenly outraged squeals and shouts, and a number of men of all species trying to cover themselves up with towels. "Hey! You can't come in here!"  
  
Nasu ignored them all in that disdainful way only Saiyans can seem to assume. "Vegeta-sama! Vegeta!"  
  
He turned slowly at the sound of his name.  
  
"You are injured, my Prince," she said softly in Saiyago. I am going to take you to the doctor."  
  
"It's all right," he replied, smiling. "I was cold before."  
  
She gave him a look of serious concern that changed quickly to determination. "Vegeta-sama, I have no doubt that one day you'll purge hell. But not today."  
  
Blackness. Frieza's voice. "Vegeta, we're talking about hurting *you*."  
  
Oh. Back to *that* dream. He couldn't wake up.  
  
He'd been badly beaten. Now he was in a small, dark room. He was hanging from a pipe in the ceiling, strung up by his tail.  
  
His feet were tied together, tied to his tail, and his arms were dangling to the floor, wrists tied, as well. His tail felt like it was on fire. He was weak and dizzy and in so much pain.  
  
When the door opened, it was Frieza, smiling, with a rod in his hand. He knew he was going to be whipped.  
  
Mercifully, the dream skipped the whipping, and he was being untied and lowered to the floor. Frieza had left. It was Kakkarot holding him now, and dreams had no mercy after all. No more than real life did.  
  
Kakkarot was patting him on the cheek, forcing him back to consciousness. Vegeta knew what was coming next.  
  
Stop, stop, his mind pleaded, and the picture was replaced with total blackness, lowering down like a veil. But then someone laughed.  
  
"Ah. There you are. Thinking of me again, are you?" Blackness surrounded him. "You're not trying to hide from me, are you? You can't hide from a bond."  
  
Terror built on all sides as the blackness closed in. "Frieza won't kill you, you know. Oh, he'll come close enough, but in the end. . . he's promised you to me."  
  
Kakkarot was in front of him, right in front of him, and he couldn't move. "And I shall so enjoy having you." Kakkarot's smile truly was terrible.  
  
With every last bit of his energy, Vegeta finally willed himself awake. He whimpered. He was reeling, so tired, and so afraid, and it was only 3:30, and he thought he might go insane.  
  
Was Kakkarot really talking to him? Or was it just his imagining it all in a dream? Or was this time's Kakkarot putting it in his head somehow? He didn't know. He shuddered and sat up.  
  
This Kakkarot had trained in 100 times gravity for a week and then gone Super Saiyan. All right.  
  
So it was outside to the GR, be careful not to wake anyone, turn it on, let's try 60 Gs. OK. Stretch. How did you turn on those robots again? Must be that button there. Train.  
  
Hito came in at 7:00 or so and gave him a weird look. Vegeta ignored him and downed another robot.  
  
Hito grunted and walked over to the GR settings. It read 75. "You're monopolizing the room, brat. You've got the gravity too low."  
  
Vegeta stopped and scowled darkly at him. "Turn it up then."  
  
Hito hesitated, then put it on 100. Vegeta felt the increase in pressure around him and smirked at Hito. He wasn't in a particularly good mood, "Let's go."  
  
Hito immediately smirked back and powered up.  
  
"This is better, brat," he said after blows and kicks had rained furiously for awhile. "You were letting too much distract you from your training. All that bit with meeting girls. . ."  
  
"You have a wife," Vegeta shot back at him, aiming a kick to Hito's head that only missed by centimeters. "I still can't figure out how that happened."  
  
Hito snarled and didn't answer. Vegeta dodged a powered-down Gallic Gun attack. That was close. Sweat dripped into his eye and stung. He wiped it away, phasing out and behind Hito, bringing both fists around into his back. Hito just spun and grabbed his leg and swung him around into the wall.  
  
Blood spurted out of his mouth. He spit it on the floor and jumped back up, ramming an elbow into Hito's stomach. Hito countered with a kick in the ribs. Vegeta stumbled back a few steps and fired the Big Bang Attack he'd learned yesterday. Hito batted it away and smirked. Vegeta's eyes narrowed. That was it. He was going down.  
  
Only he couldn't seem to get an advantage. Hito had years more training and experience and a slight hint of recklessness that ignored times when other people would show caution. It gave him an edge.  
  
Vegeta was becoming increasingly frustrated and battered. But he didn't believe in giving up. They kept fighting until around 11:30 when Bulma came knocking on the door and demanded that they come eat lunch. When they resisted, she said firmly, "Vegeta-chan, you're a growing boy and you need food. And Vegeta-san, you should be a good example. Now come."  
  
So they went.  
  
"Hey, Reina said you didn't want to go with us this Saturday," Trunks said over lamb stew.  
  
Vegeta shrugged. "I have more important things to do."  
  
"Like what?" Trunks looked insulted.  
  
"Train."  
  
"You corrupted him," Bulma accused Hito.  
  
"He's just finally showing some true Saiyan qualities," Hito sniffed.  
  
Vegeta's face blanked completely. What did he mean by that?  
  
After lunch, it was back to the GR. Hito set the gravity at 115 this time. Vegeta welcomed it. He was going to go Super Saiyan or die trying.  
  
________ ________ ________  
  
A/N: OK, next chapter is the party. I know you've been waiting. Wait'll you see what happens between Vegeta and Goku. . . 


	8. 8: The Party

The Bite--Ch. 8  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
__________ ____________  
  
Vegeta's body was exhausted, although he had found the training exhilarating. But his mind was not tired, and once again he was afraid to try to sleep.  
  
He watched "Big Trouble in Little China" on late night T.V., with a bag of cashews and a package of Oreos. When it was over, he wandered upstairs.  
  
When he'd slept in the same room as Hito, he hadn't dreamed. But he couldn't wake up Hito and Bulma and ask to crawl into bed with them, like a small brat with nightmares (he'd seen that on T.V. a few nights ago).  
  
He silently opened the door to Trunks' room and peered in. He was sleeping peacefully. He gave the matter serious thought until his mind shut down and he crept inside.  
  
When Trunks woke up the next morning around 9:00, he found Vegeta curled up on the floor at the foot of his bed, asleep. He couldn't even begin to imagine why. He remembered waking up in the same room with him earlier. Obviously, something was up.  
  
He got out of bed and went to the bathroom. When he came back out, Vegeta was waking. He sat up and looked around in confusion.  
  
"Hey," Trunks said. Vegeta turned and looked at him, then gave that scowl that meant he was actually embarrassed. It had taken Trunks years to decipher that look on his father, but he couldn't be fooled now.  
  
Vegeta grunted and stood. Should he say anything or just leave?  
  
Trunks spoke first. "Did you sleep?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good."  
  
Vegeta regarded him, then nodded and stalked out.  
  
Trunks thought for a moment, then went and found his mother.  
  
____________ _____________  
  
Trunks joined Hito and Vegeta in the GR after breakfast. Bulma came and forced them to stop for lunch again. "But shower first," she scolded.  
  
Vegeta went to his room to find it vastly different. One of the walls was torn down so it was open to the room next to it. Which Trunks had apparently moved into. He looked over from where he was sitting on the other bed. "You don't mind, do you? It's been so long since I had company."  
  
Mutely, Vegeta shook his head.  
  
Trunks smiled. "Good." He wandered into his bathroom for his shower.  
  
Vegeta stared at the closed door for a moment, amazed. Then he smiled very slowly.  
  
______________ _____________  
  
That night he dreamed of green and silver machines in a round room full of shadows, and dark eyes watching from the corners. But he slept on through til morning.  
  
______________ ______________  
  
He and Hito trained until 11:30 the next day, until Bulma dragged them out to get ready for the party. "The guests will start showing up around noon," she told them. "And you're both a mess!"  
  
They snorted. "Women," Hito said in Saiyago. "You said it," Vegeta answered. Bulma just shoved them forward.  
  
But when he got upstairs, he felt the apprehension begin to churn in his stomach. He was going to stay as far away from the whole Kakkarot clan as he could.  
  
He felt Kakkarot arrive. As he walked down the stairs, he could hear Chi- Chi think at him, "Goku, you can't eat yet! Try to show some manners!"   
  
Perhaps that Chi-Chi onna had been a controlling influence on this Kakkarot's evil?  
  
Then Trunks was calling from the dining room, "Hey, Vegetas One and Two! Hurry up, we're hungry!"  
  
"Which one of us gets to be number one?" he sent to Trunks and heard him laugh before he locked off all his mental shields.  
  
When Vegeta walked into the room, Bulma grabbed his arm and pulled him over to face three strange men and a strange little--something else. "This is Roshi, Tien, Chatzou, and Yamcha," Bulma introduced them.  
  
So that was the ex-boyfriend, eh? Then she was pulling him over to stand in front of Gohan, that Namek, a woman, and a brat. "Videl, and her daughter, Pan."  
  
He examined them closely. They didn't seem evil.  
  
Then it was off to another group. "Krillin, his wife, 18, and their daughter, Marron. She's twelve, a year younger than you."  
  
She was, in fact, eyeing him appreciatively. He smirked and her parents frowned. "Marron," he said.  
  
"Hey, Vegeta!" Vegeta tensed, but Goku was in fact greeting Hito, who had entered. "Can we eat now?"  
  
"Baka. Always thinking with your stomach," Hito insulted him. Goku never lost his grin.  
  
And Bulma only laughed. "Yes, we can eat now."  
  
Vegeta placed himself in between Trunks and Marron. This meant that Krillin and 18 were sitting watchfully across from him, but he didn't care as long as Kakkarot stayed at the far end of the table. Goten came and sat across from Trunks, but him he could deal with.  
  
As Chi-Chi helped Bulma serve the food, Vegeta tried to ignore all the curious glances coming his way. Finally, just to be outrageous, he picked his spoon up with his tail and idly drummed it on the table.  
  
"Cut it out, brat," Hito said, again in Saiyago.  
  
He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What? I'm just giving them an excuse to look."  
  
"Well, show some Royal dignity."  
  
Vegeta set the spoon down, wrapped his tail back around his waist, leaned back in his chair, and radiated Royalty so strongly that Marron vowed to marry him and 18 thought that she might not mind if they did.  
  
Hito smirked. "Better."  
  
Chi-Chi plopped a pork chop onto his plate as Bulma ladled stuffing next to it. "Handsome," Bulma whispered to him, one of the Saiyan words she knew.  
  
Vegeta had to work very hard to prevent a blush.  
  
When everyone was seated and eating, Bulma suddenly announced, "Surprise! I'm pregnant!"  
  
Chi-Chi squealed, jumped up, and hugged her. Everyone began happily shouting congratulations, except for Yamcha, who was staring at his food with distaste.  
  
"Now Pan will have a playmate," Videl said cheerfully.  
  
Goku stared at Bulma. "A girl?"  
  
She nodded. He grinned. "Maybe she can marry Goten," he suggested brightly.  
  
Goten crying, "Dad!" and Chi-Chi gasping, "Goku!" were drowned out by Hito yelling, "Your brat will never marry a brat of mine as long as I'm breathing, Kakkarot! And if I'm dead, then I'll come back from the next dimension specifically to stop it!"  
  
"And what is wrong with my son?" Chi-Chi demanded.  
  
Goten groaned. "I'm sitting right here."  
  
"He's too old for her," said Trunks.  
  
"I think she may want some say in this decision," Bulma added. "Wait and ask her later."  
  
"That's right," Marron grinned. "A woman should pick out her own husband." She looked suggestively at Vegeta. "Don't you agree?"  
  
Vegeta shrugged. "Princes marry for the benefit of their kingdoms."  
  
"You don't have one," Goten blurted.  
  
Trunks reached out and grabbed Goten's wrist so hard the bones ground together. "Shut up," he hissed.  
  
They all stared at him. But all he could think of were Vegeta-chan's eyes when he'd asked him if he resented not having a planet, and his father's face when he looked up at the stars sometimes and sighed.  
  
"I don't have a kingdom," Trunks snapped. "But I'm still a Prince. And you don't have a kingdom, either, and you're still third-class and you always will be."  
  
Goten's eyes got big. Trunks bit his tongue; he hadn't meant to go that far. But he wasn't going to unsay it.  
  
An uncomfortable sort of silence descended on the table. Until Roshi said, "If she looks anything like her ma, *I'll* marry her!" At which laughter and outcries of indignation filled the air, but calmed the tension.  
  
Goten remained subdued, and after the meal wandered away to Gohan. Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin were gabbing away, and 18 was talking to Bulma and Chi- Chi, while keeping a watchful eye on Marron. Vegeta was considering asking Piccolo to spar again when he looked over and saw Goku watching him.  
  
He didn't like that at all. Then Goku stood up and approached him and he liked that even less. "Hey, Past Vegeta!"  
  
He didn't even nod, he just stared.  
  
Goku ignored this lack of encouragement. "Wanna spar?" he asked loudly enough to attract attention.  
  
What motive did he have? "No."  
  
"Aw, why not?"  
  
Hito's eyes narrowed. Was his younger self still afraid of Kakkarot? He needed to get over it, for his own good. "Go on, brat. What's your problem? Fight him."  
  
"Yeah, come on," Goku whined. "I won't go Super or anything."  
  
Hito was staring at him. He felt his eyes. The others were staring, too. He couldn't back out now; it was a matter of pride. Surely Kakkarot wouldn't do anything in front of all these witnesses?  
  
Reluctantly, Vegeta nodded his agreement.  
  
"All right!" Goku exclaimed enthusiastically.  
  
So they went outside, and the whole party followed, to sit around talking on the lawn. And watching.  
  
'Whatever.' Vegeta set himself. He got into fighting stance. He tried to remember every fighting trick he knew. And he clamped down on the shields on his mind, tight, tight, 75% of his energy right there. He knew he was going to get trounced that way, but figured he probably would have, anyhow. Hito might not admit it, but he would. Just not out loud.  
  
So began the stare down. It lasted so long Trunks was starting to wonder if they'd fight at all. Vegeta-chan was scared. He didn't think anyone else but his dad could tell it, but he was. Trunks wished he could reassure him.  
  
Then Vegeta made his move, disappearing and reappearing not behind him or beside him, as Goku expected, but above him. He kicked him in the head, but that was the only hit he got in for a long time after. Goku blocked everything. On the other hand, Vegeta could block most of his moves, too. 'He must be going easy on me. Time to use ki.'  
  
That meant a Gallic Gun, that Goku dodged, and a smirk followed by a Kamehameha that wasn't dodged, because Goku was just as surprised as Piccolo that Vegeta would use that attack.  
  
Then Goku sent one in return that Vegeta jumped aside from, and used Nasu's Fire and Smoke technique that had worked so well on Hito. It got Goku, too.  
  
Then Goku hit him in the jaw and he fell backwards a bit. They paused a moment and stared at one another again, out of breath.  
  
Their eyes locked. Vegeta's face went tense and wary. Goku smiled. Vegeta prepared to spring. . .  
  
"You're worried I'm going to attack your mind, aren't you?"   
  
He stopped dead. That was Kakkarot. Speaking in his head. Oh, *kami*.  
  
Everything else around him faded away. All he saw was Goku. He was frozen in place, staring.  
  
Trunks, on the sidelines, suddenly took a concerned step forward. What was going on? Why were they just staring at each other like that? Vegeta's face still wore that expression of arrogance, but he had gone white to the lips and his eyes were wide and strange. Hito had his arms crossed, frowning.  
  
"It's just that I noticed you have your mind guarded so tight, you're not even fighting at your maximum," Goku was still speaking.  
  
The blood was pounding in Vegeta's ears. Sweat was trickling down his back. It was hard to draw a breath. Kakkarot was going to take him. 'No, surely I can keep him out. This one's never been trained.' But that didn't seem to matter. He was strong, this one. Enormously, terribly strong.  
  
"Hito," Vegeta whispered desperately. Hito twitched.  
  
"You don't need to bother blocking me out, Vegeta." Goku took one step forward, still smiling.  
  
*He-was-breaking-through.*  
  
"I can get into your mind whenever I want. But I don't want to."   
  
Hito saw the pupils in Vegeta's eyes dilate until they were nothing but black, and then he was standing in between them, facing Goku, demanding, "What exactly are you doing?"  
  
The others were staring in confusion.  
  
And Vegeta was closing his eyes in despair as Goku hovered at the edges of the border in his mind, not coming in yet, but making it perfectly clear that he could at any time. 'Too much. . . too much. . .' And Vegeta realized that the person he *really* hated the most was not himself, after all. It was Kakkarot.  
  
Goku was staring at Hito in confusion. "I'm just reassuring him that I'm not after him."  
  
"Does he look reassured to you?" Hito snarled.  
  
They looked at Vegeta. His face was still white, but as they watched, his face suddenly cleared, became almost peaceful. "See?" Goku smiled.  
  
Vegeta opened his eyes. They were teal.  
  
Then he let loose one scream, and power flowed over him so suddenly he was dizzy, as his hair turned golden and he looked at Goku. "Stay-out-of-my- head," he said softly, then lunged at him.  
  
Hito danced out of the way, smirking.  
  
Vegeta's fist smacked into the surprised Goku's face, sending him clear across the yard to slam into a tree. Even as Goku stood up, Vegeta was in front of him, with a punch to the gut and a scissors-kick to his head. Goku fell back over. "You're *not* reassured, are you?" he asked, massaging his jaw.  
  
Vegeta grabbed his arm and slammed him into another tree. Goku jumped back and went to Super Saiyan.  
  
Vegeta took the time to re-shore his mind's walls. Up to 90%, and he still had all this power left for fighting. It was an incredible sensation.  
  
Then Chi-Chi planted herself next to Goku, and Bulma was standing next to him, demanding what was going on and why this game suddenly seemed so deadly serious.  
  
Goku still looked confused. "I just told him I wasn't going to attack him."  
  
"You just *told* me you could attack me at any time. You tried to break through!"  
  
Bulma reached over and bopped Goku on the ear. "Quit messing with his head, Goku! Leave him alone! He's only 13!"  
  
"I didn't mean anything!" Goku protested.  
  
"He can defend himself, onna," Hito threw in. "Don't make him seem weak."  
  
"Well, the fight's over," Chi-Chi insisted. "I think we should go home."  
  
"You're not getting me," Vegeta told him quite seriously. "I can go Super Saiyan now."  
  
"Dad can go to Level Three," Goten said somewhat spitefully. After all, Vegeta was the reason Trunks was mad at him.  
  
Vegeta went still again. "Level Three?" he repeated in a strange voice. "There're levels?"  
  
"Shut up, Goten," Trunks hissed.  
  
"Vegeta," Hito said in a tone that brooked now argument. "Come with me and I'll tell you about levels."  
  
Vegeta took a deep breath, trying to return to sanity and calm. Then he nodded and followed Hito to the GR.  
  
______________ ______________ 


	9. 9

The Bite--Chapter 9  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
Vegeta and Hito faced each other. "You were about to lose it, weren't you? We can't have you an emotional wreck. Don't make a fool of us, boy."  
  
But Vegeta couldn't rein himself completely back in. He still felt panicky and threatened. Why did everyone believe Kakkarot and think he was harmless? Even Trunks did. And when was Kakkarot going to attack him? Now? Later? 'And what will I do then? Can I keep him out?' He had worked and struggled all his life to become a Super Saiyan and now they said it wasn't enough? And what about the bond? Did he know? He hadn't acted as if he did.  
  
"Look, there are several things you need to know," Hito sighed. "There are levels. Super Saiyan One will let you beat Frieza, but Kakkarot can go to Level Three. I--I can only go to Level Two," he admitted very reluctantly.  
  
'So I'm on my own.' He could no longer stop his trembling.  
  
"There's something else, though. Fusion. It's a technique to join with another person. For a limited time you fuse with the other, becoming one being. It's a very powerful trick. You can learn that. I've done it. So have Trunks and Goten."  
  
Vegeta's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who did you do it with?"  
  
Hito looked at him. The brat wasn't going to like this. "Kakkarot."  
  
No, he didn't like it. He actually backed up a little bit.  
  
"You have to stop this, Vegeta. I've known Kakkarot now for almost 20 years. I've seen his mind when we were joined together. He really is--pure- hearted and simple. He wouldn't be after you."  
  
'That's how he broke my walls so easily. He knows what my mind looks like. He's got an inside link. Oh, kami!' He was panting, tail thrashing behind him. "He tricked you! He's tricked all of you! He's set himself up inside you so you'll be deluded!"  
  
"My mind's stronger than that," Hito sneered. "So's yours."  
  
Vegeta shook his head. "I couldn't keep him out. Hito. . . how can I keep him out?" His expression was haunted.  
  
"I'll keep him out."  
  
"How?" he asked somewhat hopelessly. "You're only Level Two."  
  
Hito scowled. "Brat, trust me. Come here."  
  
'Can he?' Sudden hope made his heart pound. He went to stand directly before Hito.  
  
"All right. Hold still." He reached out a hand and placed his palm on Vegeta's temple.  
  
His eyes were instantly wary. "What are you going to do?"  
  
"What's one plus two, brat?" Hito smirked.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Mental walls at Level One, shored up by walls at Level Two, should stand up to attack by Level Three. Understand?"  
  
"But you fused with him! He can go around our shields because he knows our mind!"  
  
"Despite underlying similarities, brat, your mind is *not* the same as mine." Hito closed his eyes and reached out mentally.  
  
Vegeta flinched despite himself as he felt Hito come into contact with his mind. "Kami. . ." Hito breathed softly. "You *have* been attacked a lot, haven't you?"  
  
Vegeta frowned and didn't answer.  
  
"How *did* he almost break through? I've never seen shields this strong before." Hito probed some more. "Wait a minute. . . what's this thread?" Hito's lips pressed together thinly and his eyebrows drew down.  
  
Vegeta realized the error he'd made. He'd let Hito look in too deep. He'd found it. "The walls," he prompted desperately. "Fix the walls."  
  
Then Vegeta felt his defenses strengthen, his shields thicken, as if they were being added on to, like walls with plaster. When Hito was done, Vegeta was sure Kakkarot wouldn't break through easily. But now Hito. . .  
  
Hito was glaring at him as coldly as death itself. He took his hand away only to bring it to the collar of his shirt and rip it open.  
  
Hito stared at the bite mark on his skin, as Vegeta flushed and dropped his gaze.  
  
"You're bonded," Hito snarled. "And you've been bitten. The dominant one bites the submissive one! How could you submit to Kakkarot? How could you let him bite the Prince of all Saiyans?"  
  
Anguish and humiliation filled him. He felt the blood drain from his face. When he finally met Hito's burning, accusing stare, his own eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him."  
  
"Don't you dare cry on me! Crying is for babies and weaklings! You know that. I can't believe you let this happen!"  
  
The words cut him. His stomach felt like he'd been kicked. It was as if he were back on base, being dressed down by Frieza.  
  
"You let Kakkarot dominate you! You let him bond you! And then you wonder how he found a path to your mind? Baka!"  
  
He blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears. Hide it, hide it, don't show pain. Don't show that he's gotten to you.  
  
"Quit sniveling. Never show weakness!"  
  
His memory still on reprimands he'd received in the past, he automatically responded, "Yes, Lord Frieza."  
  
And time suddenly slowed down as they both realized what he'd said. Vegeta's eyes went wide. Hito stared at him for a brief moment, eyes equally wide, then he turned and fled the GR.  
  
'How could I slip like that? How could I have said that? He'll never forgive me now. Especially when he already hates me for. . . when he knows about. . .' A sob slipped out. He was alone, and besieged, and utterly lost. Here he didn't even have Radditz to help him. His face contorted as he wept at last.  
  
His lungs were on fire. His breathing was ragged; he couldn't catch a breath. His whole body trembled. He slid down the wall, rested his arms on his knees, and buried his head in his arms. He was ashamed to be losing it like this. He hadn't cried since he was 7, and Vegeta-sei had blown up. And even then it had only been a few silent tears, not like this: hard, bitter sobs choked out straight from his gut, unstoppable. And a brutal, biting ache that was filling his whole being, his very soul, and burning him alive. He wondered if it would burst his heart, if it could actually kill him. He hoped so.  
  
"Vegeta," said a voice. "Vegeta."  
  
He looked up. Goku was standing there, staring at him. Vegeta almost wanted to laugh. He smirked bitterly, wanting to tell him, "It's too late, you've already broken me." Broken heart, broken mind, broken body, broken spirit. Even his pride, now that he'd seen him like this. There was nothing left. He thought about pleading with him. "Please," he could say, "don't hurt me more." But he could never do that. In the end, he said nothing, just looked up, smirking while tears still ran down his face.  
  
"Vegeta," Goku whispered. "I can feel your pain. We're *bonded*, aren't we?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
Goku took a step closer. Vegeta finally managed to make the tears stop. He tried to back up, but he was against the wall. Goku stopped moving forward as Vegeta backed away, and instead sat down facing him, several feet away.  
  
"I'm sorry about earlier," Goku said gently. "When I look back on what I said--it didn't come out right, did it? I honestly didn't mean it as an attack. I promise, Vegeta. I'm not going to invade your mind."  
  
"Just leave me alone," Vegeta returned hoarsely.  
  
"But I need to ask you--how did we get bonded? I don't understand what's going on."  
  
Memories filled Vegeta's head, almost blinding in intensity. He watched Goku pick them up, and flinch, going pale. "Kami," he breathed. "I can't--I never--kami, Vegeta, I swear, that's not me! I would never--I swear I will never hurt you. I won't."  
  
"I don't trust you."  
  
"No. . . I suppose you wouldn't." Goku stared at him, still horrified. "Well, now I know why you don't like me."  
  
"You're evil."  
  
Goku bit his lip. "What can I do to convince you otherwise?"  
  
Vegeta snorted. "Nothing! Go away."  
  
"You're still afraid." Vegeta denied this vehemently. Goku smiled. "You are. But I don't want you to be. It's needless. Here. Here, Vegeta, I'll show you." And he opened up his mind and waited.  
  
Vegeta stared. It was a trap, surely it was a trap. Kakkarot's mind was open, all barriers dropped. Vegeta edged a little closer. He could go in-- he could see. Did he dare? Or would Kakkarot ensnare him?  
  
He took the chance.  
  
Goku's mind lay spread out before him, like a mosaic covering a floor. He could look at it as a whole picture, or go in and look at individual pieces. He crept in closer.  
  
Scenes and memories, thoughts and feelings, motivations and personality traits. . . and it was true. Hito was right. Simple-minded and pure- hearted. He never would have believed it. It was like nothing he'd ever imagined.  
  
He pulled out and away, came back into himself, and stared Goku in the eyes. "Kami." He didn't know what else to say.  
  
Goku smiled. "See? You can quit worrying. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me."  
  
His words washed over him, like water when one had been in a desert, dying of thirst. He seriously considered crying again. He was safe. He was safe.  
  
The door was flung open and Trunks burst in. "What's going on? Vegeta, are you OK? Goku, didn't you go home?" And then, shocked and truly upset, "You've been crying! Goku, what did you do to him?"  
  
Goku blinked. "I didn't do anything!"  
  
Vegeta quickly wiped his eyes and face. "It's all right. I'm all right."  
  
"No, you're not!" Trunks came and knelt beside him.  
  
"I'm better."  
  
"But. . ."  
  
Goku looked at his hands in his lap. "That Kakkarot guy is really evil."  
  
"Yes. And. . . and, well, Hito yelled at me," Vegeta confessed reluctantly.  
  
Trunks frowned. "What did he say?"  
  
"He said I was being unduly and overly emotional."  
  
"I think you have some cause," Goku said dryly.  
  
Vegeta shrugged, with half a smile and half a bitter smirk.  
  
Trunks raised his eyebrows and leaned forward. "Why?"  
  
"He found it," Vegeta answered faintly. "The bite. He thinks I'm weak."  
  
Goku looked extremely indignant. "He had no right to say that! How could he?"  
  
"It wasn't his fault. Besides, he's right. I let Kakkarot take me. I am weak."  
  
"Bite?" Trunks repeated, aware he was missing something terribly important.  
  
Vegeta didn't want anyone else to know, but Goku opened his mouth before Vegeta could stop him. "That Kakkarot. He bit him. They're bonded."  
  
Trunks' eyes got very, very wide. "How did that happen?"  
  
This time Goku remained silent. 'Should I tell him?' Vegeta debated. '*Can* I tell him? I need all the help I can get. But it's more likely to make him hate me as much as Hito does.'  
  
"It's OK," Goku soothed. "He won't hate you. Tell him."  
  
He was actually listening to Kakkarot. Talk about inconceivable. He swallowed hard, all good feeling fading. Despite everything, he found himself shaking again, and couldn't stop. He sneered at himself. 'Weakling. Just tell him.'  
  
He finally spoke. "Nappa defected so I killed him," he recited in a flat voice. "Frieza got upset and--beat me up really bad. Then he gave me to Kakkarot. He does that a lot. He'll weaken me up and then. . . Kakkarot tries to take my mind. When Kakkarot gave his loyalty to Frieza, Frieza had him trained in telepathy." He stopped, and looked at the ground. After a moment, he looked back up. "I kept him out for three years, but that day I was. . . hurt pretty seriously, and Kakkarot decided I couldn't really fight back so it would be fun to. . . to. . ." He couldn't say it. He took a deep, steadying breath. "He's a lot stronger than me. And a lot bigger, and three years older. I couldn't stop him. And when he was done, I guess I was--weaker than usual, because he--he bit me. And when he did, it was as if something in my brain just exploded, and then he was *inside* it, laughing. Telling me I was his." His voice was getting more and more shaky. Another deep breath. "And it was like my mind was just laid bare and he was sifting through it. It--it hurt so bad. . . then I passed out and when I woke up, I was here." His eyes were dull and dead.  
  
Trunks wished he could kill that Kakkarot himself. He reached out and put a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "You're not weak. You're not to blame. And I definitely do not hate you."  
  
A tiny spark flickered again in his eyes. Vegeta felt too overwhelmed to reply.  
  
Then there was a sound in the doorway, and they all spun around. Hito stood there, frowning. He'd listened to the whole story. "Vegeta. . ." he began. "I. . . I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did. Seeing you--sometimes I remember me at that age and. . . well, I've been remembering a lot of stuff that happened to me."  
  
Trunks didn't consider this to be an adequate apology, but Vegeta did. He knew what it was like to think you'd dismissed something Frieza had told you as lies and rubbish, only to find him whispering in your ear when you tried to think past him. He couldn't blame Hito, he really couldn't. Not even if it had hurt. And he was too grateful not to be shunned forever when he truly believed he deserved it.  
  
"And Trunks is right. You're not weak."  
  
Vegeta shook his head. "I've been dreaming," he whispered. "Almost every night. I see him in my dreams, trying to reach me. I don't think it's a dream anymore. I think he's coming after me. And I don't know what to do."  
  
"Maybe Piccolo can help," Trunks suggested. "He's good at all that telepathy stuff."  
  
"We should be able to seal up the link between *us* pretty well, anyway. It'll be kind of like an annoying itch, but I won't scratch at it."  
  
"If he follows you here, we'll kill him," Hito said simply. "That's the only way to break a bond."  
  
Vegeta looked at the three of them, amazed. Hito didn't hate him, either? Kami, none of them were acting as if they did. But they should despise him, now that they knew the truth.  
  
"We should talk to Mom. Maybe she could think of a way to prevent them from time-traveling in the first place."  
  
Someone laughed. Startled, Vegeta looked around. No one else seemed to have heard it. Then a voice said in his mind, very clearly, "Too late."  
  
They all sprang up abruptly and looked towards the north, where they felt two enormous ki levels. 


	10. 10: Kakkarot's Arrival

The Bite--Chapter 10 (Kakkarot's Arrival)  
  
by Elbereth in April  
  
____________ ____________  
  
  
The four of them turned and looked at each other. "He's here," Vegeta whispered.  
  
"All right." Hito nodded crisply. "This is the plan. The boy here and I are going to kill Frieza." He smirked just a little at Vegeta. "I'll let you do most of it, brat, but the truth is. . . I want a piece of him, too."  
  
Vegeta smiled slightly in return. He had no objections.  
  
"And you, Kakkarot, can take care of your little double until we're done and can deal with him. Got that?"  
  
Everyone nodded. Goku grinned. "Let's go." He put a hand on Trunks' shoulder, and Trunks put a hand on each Vegeta's arm. Then Goku transported them.  
  
When they reappeared, they found themselves standing on a rocky hill in the middle of nowhere, looking down at their enemies. Frieza and Kakkarot stood there, looking back at them, apparently unconcerned. Vegeta tried not to let panic overwhelm him. True, he had allies, at long last--and strong ones, too. But his fear of Frieza and Kakkarot was so ingrained, it was hard not to let it rule him.   
  
From different parts of the sky, Piccolo and Gohan appeared, followed shortly afterwards by Yamcha and Krillin. "What's going on?" Piccolo demanded of Goku.   
  
"That's the Kakkarot from our alternate Vegeta's timeline. And Frieza with him, obviously. Don't worry, guys, we'll handle this."  
  
"Goku, that you seems--hostile," Krillin said nervously.  
  
"He's worse than that." Goku looked grim. "And don't call him me."  
  
"Hello, boys!" Frieza called to them. "Long time, no see, Vegeta. You weren't trying to run away, were you? Nobody does that to me."   
  
"Stay here, Trunks," Hito ordered as he and Goku followed Vegeta down the hill.  
  
They all appraised each other. Frieza's eyebrow quirked. "Vegeta, there appears to be two of you. You don't grow old gracefully."  
  
"I'm stronger than you could possibly imagine, baka," Hito snarled. Frieza laughed.  
  
Kakkarot tilted his head to one side, looking at Goku thoughtfully. "You're me."  
  
"Is he? Where's your tail, monkey?"  
  
"I can kick your butt without it."  
  
"Ooh, how frightening. He's less intelligent than you, Kakkarot."  
  
Vegeta felt Kakkarot then, battering at the shields in his mind. He silently thanked Hito for strengthening them. Kakkarot frowned and took a step closer, trying to force his way in through the bond.  
  
Goku moved in between them. "Hey. You and me first."  
  
Kakkarot scowled, then slowly smirked. "Why not?"  
  
Frieza was also smiling. "Dear Vegeta, don't tell me that *you* plan to fight *me*? Even with two of you, surely you realize how that will end?"  
  
Vegeta's eyes narrowed and his pulse sped up in anticipation. "Yeah. With you dead."  
  
"Tsk tsk. Must be this universe breeds over-confident monkeys. They've been a bad influence on you. I'm afraid I'll have to remind you how weak you are compared to me."   
  
"And we're going to show you that the legends are really true," Hito responded coldly. "Watch closely, Frieza. You're about to see a Super Saiyan."  
  
He started to power up. Vegeta joined him. Frieza's eyes widened. Their power levels kept rising until their hair turned to gold and their eyes to teal. They gave twin smirks as Frieza's mouth dropped open. "It--it can't be!"  
  
"Are you blind as well as stupid? It *is*."  
  
Frieza growled. "How dare you? Worthless, arrogant wretch--I'll show you what true strength is!" He, too, started to power up.  
  
He reached his second level when Vegeta whispered to Hito, "Should we let him do this? Gohan told me his level is 1 million."  
  
Hito smirked wider. "Not a problem. If he had a scouter, he would know we still surpass him. Let him power up. It'll be a better fight."  
  
Vegeta swallowed hard and hoped Hito knew what he was doing.  
  
Meanwhile, Goku and Kakkarot had ended their stare-down and begun to fight. Goku hadn't bothered to transform, figuring he could beat Kakkarot easily enough without bothering. Kakkarot was both stronger and faster than he'd anticipated, but that just made it more interesting. Goku blocked an elbow to the head and a kick, and then punched Kakkarot hard in the stomach. Kakkarot hissed and swung his knee into Goku's leg almost hard enough to break his thigh bone. Goku knocked him away with sheer ki energy, then charged in to land a double-handed blow against Kakkarot's spine.  
  
Frieza morphed on in to his third and then his final form. He gave a smirk of his own as his aura crackled around him, dirt flying, ground shaking. Their audience moved back to give the warriors more room. By this time, Goten had joined the spectators.   
  
Vegeta raised one hand and let a ball of ki gather there--larger and larger. Hito had closed in with Frieza, pummeling him in the ribs. Frieza's tail smacked into him with a crack as Hito sprang backward. Vegeta launched the ki blast at Frieza, from too near a distance for him to dodge.  
  
Frieza tried to send the blast back to him, but it was too strong. The energy plowed into the lizard. When the dust cleared, Frieza was picking himself up off the ground, but Hito didn't give him time to fully recover. He rushed in, swept his feet back out from under him, and grabbed him by the tail. He whirled Frieza around twice, and then let go. He flew through the air, then plowed into the side of another hill. Again, Hito followed, sending a wave of ki blasts smashing into him.  
  
Meanwhile, Kakkarot had fallen forward under Goku's blow, but caught himself on his hands. He did a handstand and mule-kicked Goku in the chin. He stood back up and twisted around, hitting him in the stomach. Goku grabbed his arm as he pulled away and threw him up in the air, then sent a ki blast after him. It hit, and Kakkarot started to fall back down. Goku rose up and met him with a knee to the gut and a fist to the back of the head. Kakkarot gave a yell as he smashed back into the earth. Goku landed on him full force, injuring his back further. Then he jumped off and kicked him. Kakkarot rolled away, hitting a large boulder and splitting it in two.  
  
Frieza got up after this second attack, then phased out and behind Vegeta. Vegeta spun around as Frieza struck out, ending up being hit in the shoulder instead of the head. It was still enough to shove him backwards. Vegeta fired a Big Bang Attack, point blank. Frieza yelped and blocked. He was thrown back, going through another hill. He looked wobbly and singed afterwards. Frieza fired an attack in return at Vegeta, who barely made it out of its path. Rock flew up behind him.  
  
Hito swooped back in, kicking Frieza in the face. Frieza snarled, grabbed Hito's leg, and swung him into that same hill. Vegeta hit Frieza with a Gallic Gun while his back was turned.  
  
Kakkarot managed to get to his knees before Goku hit him with a Kamehameha. The ground cracked open under him, depositing him in a large crater. Goku re-materialized right beside him, throwing punches too fast for Kakkarot to defend himself.  
  
Frieza recovered and rose into the air as Vegeta ran over to Hito, who was shoving his way out of the debris of what was left of the hill. Frieza created a large circle of ki and threw it at Vegeta, who dodged out of the way. The disc followed him as he flew upwards to avoid it. He spun left, then right, but it kept following.  
  
Frieza laughed at him. "What's wrong? Don't you like my little game of keep-away?" The next minute he was falling out of the air as Hito hit him while he was distracted.  
  
The disc was gaining. "This way!" Hito yelled to him, as he sped after Frieza. He caught him by the tail and let him dangle at arm's length.  
  
Vegeta turned again and came flying. Hito smirked at him. Frieza turned pale and screamed, "No!" as Vegeta headed straight for him. At the last instant, Vegeta pulled up and Hito dropped Frieza, straight into the path of the disc. It sliced through him, cutting him in two at the waist.  
  
Goku was holding Kakkarot by the hair, punching him in the face. For once in his life, he felt no particular need to go easy on someone. Kakkarot gasped as Frieza hit the ground in two parts. Goku stopped hitting him to watch.  
  
Vegeta and Hito flew down to land next to him. Vegeta was breathing hard. Incredibly, Frieza was still alive.  
  
"Spare me," he pleaded. "I'll go back to my own time and let you be. Don't kill me."  
  
Vegeta answered, "You said mercy is a weakness." He and Hito raised their hands. "Final Flash!" they shouted.   
  
This time when the smoke cleared, all that remained was a large crater and a bit of ash. Vegeta felt his knees go weak. Frieza was dead. He was really dead. Vegeta could scarcely believe it. Frieza had been his tormentor for so long.   
  
"For Vegeta-sei. Mal lek tecto," he whispered. ("Death is the best revenge.")  
  
"Kai ne faltala Saiya-jin hi rando," Hito responded. ("We have finally given to our people a warrior's peace.")  
  
They both turned abruptly as a scream faded away. Goku still held Kakkarot up, by his shirt. He had apparently just lapsed into unconsciousness. He was covered in blood and bruises, his clothing ripped and shredded. Goku placed him on the ground.  
  
Elation warred with disbelief and hope inside Vegeta. Was it possible that everything was going to be OK? That he could be safe, after all this time? That he could be free?  
  
They walked over to join Goku. Trunks came running up, followed quickly by the others. At some point, Tien had shown up, as well.  
  
"You did it!" Trunks exclaimed. Vegeta couldn't help but smile.   
  
Hito smirked. "I told you we'd win with no problem."  
  
Goku turned and met Vegeta's eyes. Two powers suddenly surged.  
  
The next thing Vegeta knew he was struggling to open his eyes from some deep darkness. The lids seemed to be half stuck shut by blood. Searing pains shot through him when he moved.  
  
When he got his eyes open, he was looking up at the sky, which seemed to be spinning. He lay on his back on the ground. He tilted his head just enough to glance around. The other Z warriors were all sprawled out on the ground, too, unconscious. Hito was lying very near. From what little he could hazily recall, he thought Hito had moved in front of him to deflect the worst of it.  
  
Still mostly dazed, he moved his head further. There was only one person still standing. His vision almost blacked out again. When it cleared, he realized who it was. Goku smirked down at the fallen body of his son, Gohan, then ran his gaze over the rest of the warriors.   
  
'What--what's happened? Oh, kami, no!' He felt deep satisfaction surge through the bond before Goku looked over at him and saw he was awake.   
  
"It's nice to see you like this, Vegeta," he said softly. "Helpless, I mean. And afraid. Your pride doesn't get broken enough."  
  
"But--why?"  
  
A contented sigh sounded in his mind. "I persuaded him."   
  
Vegeta flinched and looked around. Kakkarot had propped himself up on one elbow, and was also staring at him. "Oh, he thinks he joined me of his own free will. . . but you and I know better, ne? Actually, his mind was fairly easy to slip into. He *is* me, after all."   
  
This was death, then. No, this was worse than death. With that terrible, terrifying smile, Goku walked towards him.   
  
______________ ______________  
  
  
A/N: Feel free to come join me to talk about writing, DBZ, or whatever at groups.yahoo.com/group/Distortion_dbz 


	11. 11

The Bite--Chapter 11  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
The next thing Vegeta knew he was struggling to open his eyes from some deep darkness. The lids seemed to be half stuck shut by blood. Searing pains shot through him when he moved.  
  
When he got his eyes open, he was looking up at the sky, which seemed to be spinning. He lay on his back on the ground. He tilted his head just enough to glance around. The other Z warriors were all sprawled out on the ground, too, unconscious. Hito was lying very near. From what little he could hazily recall, he thought Hito had moved in front of him to deflect the worst of it.  
  
Still mostly dazed, he moved his head further. There was only one person still standing. His vision almost blacked out again. When it cleared, he realized who it was. Goku smirked down at the fallen body of his son, Gohan, then ran his gaze over the rest of the warriors.  
  
'What--what's happened? Oh, kami, no!' He felt deep satisfaction surge through the bond before Goku looked over at him and saw he was awake.  
  
"It's nice to see you like this, Vegeta," he said softly. "Helpless, I mean. And afraid. Your pride doesn't get broken enough."  
  
"But--why?"  
  
A contented sigh sounded in his mind. "I persuaded him."   
  
Vegeta flinched and looked around. Kakkarot had propped himself up on one elbow, and was also staring at him. "Oh, he thinks he joined me of his own free will. . . but you and I know better, ne? Actually, his mind was fairly easy to slip into. He *is* me, after all."   
  
This was death, then. No, this was worse than death. With that terrible, terrifying smile, Goku walked towards him. Sick with dread, covered in sweat, Vegeta tried to find the strength to move. He scrambled to his hands and knees, as the world continued wheeling around him. But he felt so terrified, he wondered, 'What's the use? I could never beat Goku, anyway.'  
  
There was a sudden flare of light as Hito sat up. His blast struck Goku between the shoulder blades and embedded him into the side of the last remaining hill. Energy completely drained, Hito fell back again. "Brat. . . run!" he managed before he passed out.  
  
Vegeta made it to his feet. Kakkarot tried to pull together enough energy for an attack as Goku struggled to free himself. That was all Vegeta stayed to see. He took to the air as fast as he could determine which way was up. He lowered his ki so far it made him nauseous, but he couldn't let them find him.  
  
His head pounded as he flew with no real idea of direction other than away. 'I can't go to Capsule Corp. They'll be waiting for that. Where can I run to that would be safe?' The only place he'd *been* was to that mall. He had no real knowledge of this planet or its people. He didn't know the culture well enough to blend in.  
  
"Vegeta. . ." Kakkarot was whispering. "Running again? You're just putting off the inevitable. We'll find you. You know we'll find you."   
  
Vegeta forced himself not to agree. Keep your shields up. Keep your ki low. Don't think too loud, he'll overhear.  
  
'What will they do to Hito and Trunks?' Worry later, just run. But where to? 'Kami, please don't let them catch me.'  
  
He was alone again.  
  
The clouds swirled around him. He could hardly think past the pain in his head, and when he tried, memories of Kakkarot kept haunting him, of that last fateful day. Overwhelming terror and hate further confused him. He knew he couldn't make it very far. There was a forest off to his left. Could he hide there? He headed toward it.  
  
But a forest wouldn't be a good long-term base. He needed a city, where there was less chance of him being forced to use his ki just to kill food, where he could maybe find a way to get in touch with Bulma. Where, if he was captured by Kakkarot, at least someone else in the world would *know*. He needed more than trees to know of his ultimate ending.  
  
He was alone again.  
  
"Vegeta. . . are you hurt, Vegeta? How badly? Don't go to the water. Sharks go straight for blood, you know."   
  
Kakkarot could reach his mind enough to talk to him, but he couldn't get through his strengthened walls. Yet. He couldn't use this as a way to pinpoint his location, either. Thank Hito and Kami. But the longer Kakkarot had to try. . . well, he might break through eventually. And the bond. . . he *would* force a way in through the bond some time. There was no doubt about that. It was a weakness, an opening.  
  
Kami, if only he'd been able to keep Kakkarot from biting him. . . 'I'm too weak.'  
  
Kami, he should have seen this coming! 'I thought Goku would be strong enough to keep him out, but he probably hadn't been guarding his mind at all.' Goku *was*, after all, naïve. And Kakkarot had been expressly trained in attack by Frieza. 'I'm such a fool.'  
  
He'd lost altitude without noticing. Suddenly he was amongst the tops of the trees. He dodged a particularly large one, only to crash into its neighbor. He rebounded off the tree to crash into another, and then he was smashing down through branches to land in a pile of snapped off limbs with a heavy thud.  
  
He blinked and tried painfully to get up again. More images came to taunt him. Goku's eyes, Kakkarot's smile, Hito and Trunks lying on the ground. . . 'Kami, please. . .'  
  
And then a face swam into his mind, as if in answer. He thought it over.  
  
__________ ____________  
  
Luckily, she was the one who answered the door. "Please. . ." he whispered. "Please, help me." His eyes stayed focused long enough to see her shock as she pulled him inside, before he collapsed at her feet.  
  
She slammed the door shut. "Vegeta!"  
  
He stared up at her, trying to cling to rationality. "You can't let him find me. Nobody can know I'm here!"  
  
An older woman hurried into the room. "Becky!"  
  
"Mom, he's hurt!"  
  
Becky and her mother half-carried him to the couch and laid him down. "I'll call a doctor," Mrs. Endo said.  
  
"You can't!" he insisted.  
  
Becky pulled her mom to the side. "I'd listen to him. His parents were in the Russian government. His mom was assassinated for some political reason. Somebody must be after him."  
  
"Oh, dear," her mom fretted. "Then. . . I'll get the first aid kit."  
  
Becky went back to Vegeta. She took his hand. "What happened?"  
  
But he'd blacked out again.  
  
_________ ___________  
  
When he opened his eyes, he was lying in a bed in an unfamiliar room. For a moment he wondered if he'd traveled through time again before he remembered what had happened and where he must be. Becky's room.  
  
Except that the girl sitting in a wicker chair and reading by the light of one lamp wasn't Becky. She had shoulder-length, wavy sea-blue hair, and hazel-grey eyes with extremely long lashes. She seemed dainty, yet powerful, feminine, but strong. He frowned at her.  
  
She looked up from her well-read copy of "Return of the King," and smiled. "Hello. I'm Becky's sister-in-law."  
  
Vegeta reached up and felt his head. It felt like he'd been scalped, or a knife had been driven into his brain and left there. His hands found a bandage.  
  
The girl got up hurriedly and came over to prevent him from removing it. "You have a nasty cut on your head. Don't play with it."  
  
He scowled up at her. "What's a sister-in-law?"  
  
"My brother Kevin is married to Becky's sister," she explained. "My name's Meg. They called my brother over here to look at you, you see, because he's in medical school. I came, too. Becky and I have been friends since third grade. Anyway, Becky and her mother are extremely worried but Kevin says you'll live. Are you really being pursued by the Russian Mafia?"  
  
The laugh came out sounding more like a sob. What did he do now? What did he tell these people? Could he trust them? It was hardly in his basic nature. But. . . his only allies were captured, maybe killed. He wanted to save them, but he wasn't strong enough to defeat his enemies. Who were out there looking for him already, he was sure. Kakkarot was injured, but Goku was not.  
  
"Something like that," he replied. He needed help. He had no choice but to put himself in the hands of these girls. 'Everyone is a potential enemy.' He told Frieza to shut up.  
  
He sat up, ignoring the girl's protests. He took account of his injuries. Except for his head, a wrenched shoulder, and more bruises and scrapes than he'd be able to be count, he seemed to be OK. At least the worst of the dizziness had passed and his head wasn't pounding as bad.  
  
He stood, throwing the blankets aside. He managed not to sway. He redoubled his mind shields once again and made sure his ki was still suppressed. Then he followed Meg into the dining room.  
  
Becky, her mother, and a man in his late 20's all sat at the table, talking. They jumped up when Vegeta and Meg entered.  
  
"Should you be up?" Mrs. Endo scolded.  
  
"Have a seat," Becky offered. He sat.  
  
"Let me look at you," Kevin said. He came over and checked Vegeta's head wound. Becky and Mrs. Endo paled and looked away as he changed the bandage again. "It looks better," he smiled. "Your powers of recovery are amazing."  
  
Vegeta tried to act nonchalant.  
  
"Finally awake, Vegeta?"   
  
He managed to cover his reaction.  
  
"Are you hungry?" Mrs. Endo asked cheerily.  
  
"That's good. I was worried."   
  
"Food would be good. Thank you." She went to the kitchen.  
  
"You'll be happy to know everyone here is still alive. For now."   
  
At his surge of emotion, he realized he was going to have to be careful. He musn't even let himself feel. He didn't know what Kakkarot might be able to sense or use against him.  
  
"Why don't you just come to us, Vegeta? We're here at Goku's place. You could find us easy enough. Chi-Chi is a wonderful cook."   
  
The other three sat back down. Kevin studied their guest. "Do you mind if I ask you--why do you have a tail?"  
  
Vegeta's gaze snapped to him. "Huh?"  
  
"The tail," Kevin repeated.  
  
The girls both stared at him, peering under the table. He felt the beginnings of a blush as he instinctively curled it tighter around his waist. "I thought it was a belt!" Becky blurted.  
  
How much did he dare tell them? "I--I was born with it." Change the subject, quick. "I have to contact Bulma Briefs. But I can't go to her. I can't let anyone see me or know where I am."  
  
Kevin seemed skeptical. They continued to stare at him.  
  
"She's the head of Capsule Corp., isn't she?" Kevin frowned.  
  
"She's his aunt," Becky said.  
  
"Maybe Becky could go to her office and give her a message," Meg suggested.  
  
"Me?" Becky protested immediately. Her shy soul quailed at the thought.  
  
"Are your enemies aware of your relationship with Becky?" Meg asked.  
  
Did Goku know her name? Would Kakkarot have questioned Goten? It was possible. He swallowed, feeling despair rise up again. "They might think of her. You could all be in danger."  
  
"We don't turn our back on someone in need," Meg told him.  
  
Vegeta didn't know how to reply to this. He'd never heard anyone express a sentiment quite like it before. These people had no connection with him. Did they expect him to believe they'd help him out of the goodness of their own hearts?  
  
"I can fight some," Meg added. "I've studied martial arts. Becky says you're really into that."  
  
"You don't understand the danger," Vegeta argued. "My enemies--they're stronger than anybody else on this planet!"  
  
"You're lost, Vegeta. You're all alone here. There's no one left to go to. No one you can trust. Come to me, Vegeta."  
  
His whole body tensed.  
  
"Are you sure we can't call the police?"  
  
"Just come to me. I'll have you in the end. Besides, you wouldn't want me to hurt anybody, would you? Goku's been looking at your counterpart sort of. . . hungry-like."   
  
"Vegeta?"  
  
Kakkarot was smirking. "I *will* have you."   
  
"Vegeta? Are you all right?"  
  
"They have my. . . uncle and cousin and their friends as hostages. I can't endanger them," he answered numbly.  
  
"Vegeta, who are *they*?"  
  
"Two men. Two warriors. They want me. I'd go, but. . . they'd kill Hito and Trunks anyway. Kakkarot is evil. He doesn't care who he kills. He wants me."  
  
"What can Bulma do?" Kevin asked.  
  
"She needs to know what happened. And she's a genius. She invents things. Maybe she could help somehow, I don't know. I don't know what to do!" His head ached with renewed force. He clenched his fist so tightly his nails drew blood that dripped on the Endo's table.  
  
Meg reached out and put her hand over his. "Vegeta, we're going to help you. It'll be OK."  
  
He looked at her.  
  
"So, we should tell Bulma where you are and. . ."  
  
"No!" Vegeta cut Becky off sharply. "You can't tell her that. She could be captured, too. Kakkarot could read her mind."  
  
Silence. "He reads minds?"  
  
He was going to have to tell them--not everything, but close enough. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes, then opened them. They were dull and so very tired. "I don't know if you'll believe me. But you should you know what I'm up against. Yes, he can read minds, because he's an alien. So am I. I'm not Russian. We're from the planet Vegeta-sei. That's why we have tails. That's why they're so strong. I came here to my family and Kakkarot followed me because he hates me that much."  
  
They were all staring again. Kevin smiled nervously. "Girls, why don't we go help Mrs. Endo with the food?"  
  
"It's true!"  
  
Kevin dragged his sister out of her seat and into the kitchen. Becky followed.  
  
Vegeta laid his head down on his arms on the table. 'They don't turn their back on anyone. Yeah, right.' Vegeta smirked bitterly. 'I don't know how I came so close to believing her.' So. As soon as he had a little more of his strength back, he'd leave here and return to that woods. Maybe he could work out some kind of an ambush for when Kakkarot came after him. . .  
  
___________ ________  
  
A debate raged in the kitchen. "I believe him," Becky stated firmly.  
  
"Yeah, but you believed him when he said he was from Siberia, too."  
  
"I believe him, as well," Meg declared.  
  
"He's clearly paranoid and delusional!"  
  
"Oh dear, oh dear," moaned Mrs. Endo, still stirring ham and bean soup.  
  
Becky crossed her arms. "What about his tail? And his amazing powers of recovery? And when we went to the movies--he didn't even know what popcorn was. And all that talk about ki--what *is* ki?"  
  
"It's your energy, I think," Meg replied.  
  
Kevin threw up his hands. "The meaning of ki is not the issue! OK, I'll grant you the tail. But it could be some sort of abnormality--a birth defect."  
  
"Bulma," Meg pronounced suddenly. "When Becky goes to Bulma--just ask her what the truth is."  
  
"Yes! And in the meantime, give him the benefit of the doubt," Becky insisted.  
  
Mrs. Endo perked up. "Innocent until proven guilty."  
  
Kevin frowned but knew he'd been beaten. "Oh, all right! But *I'll* go talk to this Bulma myself."  
  
"That's better anyway," Meg decided. "Becky could be recognized, if Capsule Corporation is being watched. For that matter, he shouldn't stay here. He can come back to my house while Kevin goes there. No one knows us."  
  
Kevin wanted to argue some more, but Becky was already heading back to the dining room. Meg followed her. "It'll be OK," Mrs. Endo told Kevin as he started to stop her. "I trust him. He's not dangerous. Let him go with her."  
  
__________ ___________  
  
Becky and Meg reached the dining room just in time to hear the front door open. They rushed for the door. "Wait!" Becky cried. "Wait!"  
  
Vegeta stopped on the steps and looked back at them. Becky ran forward and grabbed his arm. "Don't go! We convinced Kevin to listen to you. Come back inside and eat. Then we think you should go to Meg's house in case it's not safe here."  
  
Vegeta looked in her eyes, then back at Meg. She smiled reassuringly. "He's going ahead to Capsule Corp. Come inside."  
  
'The goodness of their hearts. Kami.'  
  
He went in to eat. 


	12. 12

The Bite--Ch. 12  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
"Shouldn't Kevin be back from Capsule Corp. by now?" Becky worried, looking at her watch.  
  
"Maybe he's planning something with Ms. Briefs."  
  
Vegeta ignored the girls, who were sitting on the couch in the living room of Meg's house. They'd sent her sister to the movies, and her parents were at work. So they were alone.  
  
Vegeta stood in the far corner, watching a dozen fish swim around an aquarium that filled half of the wall. He hoped if he concentrated on the fish long enough, he'd fall into a meditative state. There was so much to think and feel and plan, it was overwhelming him. Were these humans truly nice? What would Kakkarot do to the others? Could he help them? Would Kakkarot find him? What should he do?  
  
If only Kakkarot would just shut up in his head! It was all wearing on him. 'Maybe he's *trying* to drive me crazy.'  
  
"Do you think Vegeta's all right?" Becky whispered to Meg. "He's been awfully quiet."  
  
"Maybe we should get him to talking," Meg whispered back. "So he doesn't brood."  
  
Becky bit her lip. "I can't think of anything to say."  
  
Meg looked over at Vegeta. She wanted to find out more of what was going on, anyway. "So," she said in a much louder voice. "You're an alien."  
  
Vegeta didn't respond. Kakkarot was speaking again. "I don't mind you killing Frieza," he said with a little laugh. "I didn't like him. I just played the game. You had too much pride. But I wanted to survive over the years with as little damage and as much power as possible." Vegeta could hear the smirk in his voice as he added, " And, of course, I was always after *you*."   
  
He had to stop himself from asking why. It would be extremely dangerous to answer.  
  
Meg tried again with a more direct question. "What are Saiyans like, anyway?" She waited expectantly.  
  
When the pause was becoming awkward, Becky burst out, "Oh, Trunks is an alien, too! I'm not sure what Reina will think of that."  
  
"Goku makes a much better ally than Frieza, I must say. He's much, much more powerful. And this time, *I'm* in control."   
  
"Well, I suppose I shouldn't tell Reina, huh?"  
  
Little fish swimming around, orange and white, yellow with blue stripes. . .  
  
Meg glanced at Becky, unsure if she should be concerned or annoyed. "Vegeta, are you ignoring us or is your head wound worse than we thought?"  
  
He forced out a response. "Don't tell Reina."  
  
Meg stood up purposefully and approached him. "Do they not have fish on your planet or do you just find them really fascinating?" She stood next to him, arms crossed. He had yet to look at them.  
  
Why couldn't everyone just leave him alone for once? He was so incredibly tired. "Saiyans are a strong warrior race. If you're powerful enough, you can transform into a Super Saiyan and gain even more strength. I just learned how."  
  
"I can't believe they all let their tails be cut off, though. Of course, this planet has no moon, but still. . ."   
  
Some of them had voluntarily had their tails cut off? Vegeta's eyes widened and he couldn't help but give a shudder.  
  
Meg drummed her fingers against her arm and watched him. She was growing really worried. Something was wrong with him. "Vegeta, maybe you should sit down. Does your head hurt?"  
  
"Yes," he admitted reluctantly.  
  
She reached a hand out towards his forehead but he flinched back. Meg's eyes grew very soft. He stared into them. . .  
  
There was a knock on the door. Everyone tensed. Vegeta got into a defensive stance. Meg gave a small sigh, then cautiously went and looked through the peephole on the door. Then she relaxed and turned to them with a smile. "It's OK, it's Kevin."  
  
Vegeta closed his eyes briefly. He put as much of a block on his mind as he could. He had to be able to concentrate. They needed to decide what to do next. He slowly walked over to the couch and sat next to Becky as Meg opened the door.  
  
Kevin didn't enter. "Is everything secure?" he asked Meg.  
  
She frowned. "So far."  
  
He turned then and motioned behind him, and Meg realized that there were people in his car. They got out and came up the steps quickly.  
  
She closed the door behind them as they all looked at Vegeta. "Bulma-san insisted on coming," Kevin said. "It seemed safest to have you both here, and she wanted to talk to you."  
  
But Vegeta wasn't looking at Bulma, but the two people behind her, and his face was pale. "How. . ."  
  
"They appeared at CC looking for you," Bulma explained. "So we brought them along, too."  
  
They rushed forward and both fell to one knee before Vegeta. "Ouji-sama!" they cried.  
  
Vegeta reached out and put one shaking hand on each of their shoulders. "Radditz. . ." he whispered. "Nasu. . ."  
  
Bulma grinned. "Apparently they followed Frieza."  
  
They followed Frieza? His mind was reeling. He tried to dampen his feelings down and maintain his normal calm demeanor, but he was just too overjoyed to see them. He grinned suddenly. "Couldn't pass up a fight, could you?"  
  
"Never!" Radditz grinned back.  
  
"No way," Nasu agreed. A moment longer they stared at each other, then, "Oh, I can't help myself!" Nasu cried, and flung an arm around each of them, pulling them into a group hug.  
  
Vegeta hugged them back, shocking them both. Radditz immediately added to the hug himself. Vegeta smiled again. "Metz fa kotu," he told them softly (I am honored to have you fight by me).  
  
Nasu's eyes were suspiciously bright as they pulled apart and both crowded onto the couch on either side of Vegeta.  
  
"You know how to hide your ki."  
  
"Nasu picked it up somewhere and taught me," Radditz responded.  
  
"Why did you follow Frieza?"  
  
"As you said. To fight beside you. I knew Frieza was going after you. He got scientists to make some kind of machines to trace you and send him to where you were. I had managed to escape in the confusion, to try to find you first. . . before I realized you were gone to another time. I accidentally met up with Nasu, and she came up with a plan to hide ourselves so we could use the machines to follow Frieza and Kakkarot. We wanted to help you."  
  
Vegeta felt very warm inside.  
  
"Congratulations on killing Frieza, by the way," Nasu grinned in smug triumph.  
  
Vegeta smirked.  
  
Bulma and Meg both sat in chairs beside them. "Well, does anyone have a plan now?" Bulma asked.  
  
Radditz leaned over and whispered to Vegeta, "Your future mate is hot."  
  
Vegeta blushed.  
  
"Um, I have to call my wife and tell her to pick up our son from daycare," Kevin interrupted. "Looks like I won't be there to do it."  
  
"Go ahead." The rest of them sat and looked at each other. The non-Saiyans were staring at Radditz, Nasu, and Vegeta unabashedly.  
  
"So, you're aliens, too. I note the tails." Meg smiled.  
  
Becky shyly asked, "Why did you call him ouji-sama?"  
  
Radditz and Nasu looked astonished. "He didn't tell you he's the Prince of all Saiyans?"  
  
Meg and Becky looked at each other, then at Vegeta. Becky seemed surprised and awed. Meg's eyes narrowed as she studied him, up and down, then she slowly smirked. "I don't know how I didn't realize it sooner."  
  
Vegeta's eyebrows shot up, then he smirked back.  
  
Bulma laughed. "Please, more arrogance he doesn't need."  
  
Vegeta sobered. "How much did Kevin tell you?" he asked Bulma.  
  
"He said you killed Frieza, but then everyone was kidnapped by aliens." She frowned. "He means Kakkarot, right?"  
  
"And Goku. Kakkarot's taken over Goku's mind."  
  
Bulma's eyes went very wide. "That's--that's not good."  
  
"No. Goku's very strong."  
  
"I can't believe it! Goku's always pure-hearted!"  
  
"Hn. Not right now."  
  
"How do we rescue him?"  
  
"We kill Kakkarot. That'll free Goku." Vegeta thought, 'And me,' but didn't say.  
  
"Um, who's Goku?" Nasu asked.  
  
"Kakkarot's other self here. He was a good guy--until Kakkarot took him. He's the strongest person on the planet." Vegeta looked at the floor. Kakkarot's voice had been reduced to a disturbing whisper in the back of his head. If he dropped even a tiny fraction of his shields, he'd hear him again. Even now if he concentrated hard, he could understand the murmurings. . .  
  
"I can't believe you married an Earth woman. Despite all your Saiyan pride. And had a half-breed son. With purple hair! Interesting boy, by the way. As stubborn as you. I don't think he likes me."   
  
"Do we know where the hostages are being held?" Radditz asked, snapping Vegeta back to where he was.  
  
"They're all at Goku's house. Along with the enemy."  
  
"So what do we do?"  
  
"If we attack directly, can we beat them?"  
  
"No," Vegeta replied.  
  
"I tried to think of an invention or something clever, but I'm out of ideas, Vegeta-chan," Bulma confessed worriedly.  
  
There was a moment of tense silence. Then Vegeta spoke. "Kakkarot can't beat me alone. That means Goku has to be the one to go after me once they locate me, and Kakkarot would stay to guard the others."  
  
"But Vegeta-san and Trunks and the rest can beat Kakkarot alone."  
  
"No," Radditz interrupted. "Frieza has these new ki-controlling handcuffs. Kakkarot was the one carrying them, so even though Frieza's dead, Kakkarot's still got them. If he put them on the others while they were unconscious, they won't be able to power up to escape."  
  
Vegeta scowled. "That explains a lot. Plus he's got Chi-Chi. But they don't know Radditz and Nasu are here. So, you two could sneak in and free the others from Kakkarot."  
  
"But what about Goku?"  
  
Vegeta swallowed hard. "I'll go somewhere deserted and flare my ki. Goku will come and I'll--I'll hide my ki again and run. If I'm fast enough, I can get away from him. By the time he gives up looking for me, the others will be rescued."  
  
Everyone protested at once. "You'd be in too much danger!"  
  
"Just make sure you free Vegeta first. He can take down Kakkarot if you can't. If you can kill Kakkarot while you're there, Goku will be returned to normal, remember."  
  
"*Can* you two beat this Kakkarot?" Kevin asked, coming back into the room.  
  
"Together, with the element of surprise, and no Frieza--we can beat him!" Radditz proclaimed confidently.  
  
But Bulma was looking tearful. "It's still too dangerous, Vegeta-chan. You might get killed."  
  
Vegeta's face darkened and he gave a strange, bitter smirk. "Oh, Goku won't *kill* me. Beat me up, yes, but not kill me. He'll take me to Kakkarot. Kakkarot wants me alive. For--various reasons."  
  
There was another moment of silence.  
  
"Kakkarot will die," Nasu promised savagely. Radditz nodded, expression also fierce.  
  
Despite everything, Vegeta smiled. He'd been wrong. Loyalty did exist in the world. This was what it felt like to have friends.  
  
He wouldn't let any of them die, he vowed to himself. Not Hito, not Trunks, not Radditz or Nasu or Bulma or Becky or Meg. He would see Kakkarot die.  
  
'Oh kami, please let me see Kakkarot die.'  
  
_____________ ______________  
  
He'd given them time to get into position. He shifted nervously on the hill where he stood. The only thing left to do was let everybody know he was here.  
  
He was honestly afraid. But he was a Saiyan Prince, and he had never let fear stop him before. He powered up, making his ki as bright and clear as he could.  
  
The droning whisper in his head stopped, then loudly broke through. "Vegeta! There you are! Giving up, are you? Why don't you just come here like I told you to?"   
  
Vegeta didn't answer.  
  
The voice grew suspicious. "You're up to something, aren't you? Or do you just intend to resist and don't want to fight near our prisoners? Well, it doesn't matter. Now that I know where you are, you're mine!"   
  
'I'll never be yours,' Vegeta thought suddenly. 'Even if you win.' He smirked. 'Let's just do this. I'm waiting.'  
  
A/N: OK, not a lot happened in that chapter, but it was necessary to the plot. Next chapter will see some action. . . 


	13. 13

The Bite-Ch. 13  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
Vegeta shifted nervously on the hill where he stood. The only thing left to do was let everybody know he was here. He powered up, making his ki as bright and clear as he could.  
  
The droning whisper in his head stopped, then loudly broke through. "Vegeta! There you are! Giving up, are you? Why don't you just come here like I told you to?"   
  
Vegeta didn't answer.  
  
The voice grew suspicious. "You're up to something, aren't you? Or do you just intend to resist and don't want to fight near our prisoners? Well, it doesn't matter. Now that I know where you are, you're mine!"   
  
'I'll never be yours,' Vegeta thought suddenly. 'Even if you win.' He smirked. 'Let's just do this. I'm waiting.'  
  
He waited, and concentrated on his link to Goku. There, he felt him search. There, he felt him locking on to his ki. There, he was starting his Instant Transmission technique. . .  
  
'Now. Break the link. Hide my ki. Run.'  
  
He flew as fast as he could, down the hill, into the little valleys. There were lots of hills here, and trees, and rocks, and cuts in the earth. He dropped down to the ground and ran.  
  
He felt Goku appear where he'd been, blazing with power and energy. He had to get to where he couldn't be seen by air.  
  
'Don't let him catch you, don't let him catch you. . .'  
  
__________ __________  
  
Radditz and Nasu landed near the Sons' backyard. They crept up to the house, staying out of sight. They could sense Kakkarot's ki and pinpointed where he was inside. They slipped underneath the window. Radditz carefully eased himself up to take a look into that room.  
  
The Z warriors were lined up against the wall on the left, sitting on the floor. Kakkarot was sprawled on the couch, facing them and smirking. A very distraught-looking Chi-Chi sat next to him. He had his hand casually on her shoulder.  
  
"He's injured," Radditz pointed out as Nasu slowly rose to look, too.  
  
"Yeah. But so are they." Her eyes studied Hito for a moment. "Wow, so that's Vegeta's older version," she marveled.  
  
"Let's rescue him. I've got an idea. I think I can take Kakkarot on my own, if he's hurt. I'll challenge him. You sneak in there and free the others."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Well, if I'm not winning, you can jump in. Keep your presence hidden from him."  
  
She shrugged. It sounded workable. "Let's do it."  
  
____________ ___________  
  
Everyone jumped at the knock on the front door. Kakkarot grimaced in annoyance. "Go get rid of your visitor," he commanded Chi-Chi.  
  
She got up and opened the door. The man who had knocked brushed past her and stood in front of Kakkarot, to the wonder of everyone there. "Get up, little brother. I'm going to fight you."  
  
"Radditz!" Kakkarot and Hito exclaimed together.  
  
Kakkarot's eyes narrowed as he stood up. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I followed you and Frieza. And you didn't even notice. Sloppy."  
  
"Stay out of my business, *big* brother."  
  
"Why should I? And don't give me any bull about family devotion, because you've never shown any."  
  
"Hmm." Kakkarot smiled. "I'll give you Trunks. This Vegeta's son. How about that? The purple-haired one there."  
  
Hito growled as Radditz's expression went deadly cold. But Trunks spoke very calmly. "It's no good. Radditz is brave and loyal, and you can't get to him. Vegeta-chan said so."  
  
Kakkarot turned and glared at Trunks. Radditz never took his eyes off Kakkarot, but he smiled. "He said that?" he asked softly.  
  
"Yep." Trunks looked over at Goten. "True friends know what they mean to each other. And remain faithful, no matter what." Goten's face lit up, and he nodded.  
  
"Come on, Kakkarot," Radditz said, voice cold again. "I'm challenging you. Not afraid of me, are you?"  
  
Kakkarot faced him with an amused smile. "Not at all. Shall we go outside?"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
____________ ___________  
  
Vegeta ran along the dry stream bed. He heard the explosion off to the left, where Goku was randomly blowing up things as he searched for him. He wished he could take to the air, but was afraid he'd be found that way.  
  
"Hey, Vegeta! Come on out!"  
  
It seemed Goku wasn't very patient.  
  
He stopped running abruptly as he felt two power levels flare up, a good number of miles away. That was Kakkarot. And Radditz. He felt sweat trickle down his forehead, past his ear, and rubbed it away.  
  
"What game are you playing now, Vegeta? That's Radditz, isn't it? You always were tricky." Goku laughed. It was an eerie sound. "No matter. You're my first priority, ouji-chan."  
  
There was an awful stitch in his side, and his breath sounded too loud in his ears. He tried to pant more quietly. Another explosion, and he was off running again.  
  
___________ ___________  
  
The ray of energy left Radditz's finger, and the scouter at Kakkarot's ear burst.  
  
"Kame-hame-ha!"  
  
Radditz dodged a blast that flattened several trees. Kakkarot may have been wounded, but he'd started out stronger. Things weren't going as well as he'd hoped.  
  
He rushed in and kicked his little brother in the side, where his blood- stained shirt indicated he'd been injured. Kakkarot let out a hoarse cry, but blocked the next kick to his ribs and made a lunge for Radditz's tail.  
  
He backpedaled furiously, giving Kakkarot time to recover.  
  
"Destructo-disc!"  
  
Radditz ducked the energy circle, which took the tops off several more defenseless trees until it earthed itself in the side of a mountain.  
  
Inside the house, Krillin looked decidedly startled. "That's my move!"  
  
"He's been sifting through your minds," Piccolo said gruffly. "I've kept him out of mine, but he's been learning things from the rest of you. And Goku, too."  
  
Chi-Chi looked up briefly from where she was trying desperately to free Gohan. "I've felt him. Through my bond with Goku. He feels. . . perverted. And slightly insane." She shivered.  
  
Hito had felt him, too. He'd kept him out, but he knew if Goku tried to take his mind later. . . well, he'd probably do it, eventually. He was afraid for his younger self, even though he wasn't going to admit it.  
  
"Why can't I get these off?" Chi-Chi cried in frustration.  
  
"Here, let me help." Everyone jumped again as a girl quietly let herself into the room through the window. A girl with a tail, in Saiyan armor. . .  
  
"Are you Nasu?" Trunks asked in wonder as she rushed over to them.  
  
She smiled. "Hai." She inclined her head to Hito as she grabbed his manacled wrists. "Ouji-sama."  
  
"Drahnai," he replied, the Saiyan equivalent of it's nice to meet you (more literally translated, I've decided not to kill you at first sight).  
  
___________ _________  
  
"Kame-hame-ow!" Radditz phased in behind him and brought both his fists down onto Kakkarot's back, then slammed his knee up into his stomach. "Baka!" Kakkarot grabbed Radditz, pinning his arms to his sides. "You can't save him--he's mine! Do you hear me?"  
  
Radditz did a flip and slammed himself into the ground, with Kakkarot on the bottom, leaving a large crater. They both got up rather dazedly.  
  
They faced off again, then Radditz released an energy blast at Kakkarot. Kakkarot smiled, and sent out his own energy wave to meet it. The blasts met in between them, as each struggled to put more energy in, and consume the other.  
  
_________ ___________  
  
"Gah! Why won't these things come off?" Nasu snarled, channeling a bit of ki into the handcuffs. They wouldn't pry off by brute force, they wouldn't melt by ki.  
  
Trunks was examining his bracelets closely. "I think we need a code. . . see these buttons? It takes some kind of password to open them."  
  
"Who would program the password, Kakkarot or Frieza?" Gohan asked.  
  
"Frieza, I suppose," Nasu answered. "What would he have used?"  
  
___________ __________  
  
Goku was gaining. Vegeta checked their positions cautiously. They were both distracted by the fight they could sense between Kakkarot and Radditz.  
  
He slowed to a steady ground-covering jog. He needed to pace himself, save energy.  
  
"Interesting bluff, Vegeta."   
  
He tripped over a loose rock and sprawled on the ground. Kakkarot!  
  
"Get Goku away so Radditz here can fight me. Interesting. I admit I didn't know he'd followed me. But I'm still going to win. I'm beating him even as we speak."   
  
Was it true? Was Radditz losing?  
  
"Goku will stay in my possession. . . he'll find you. And then you'll be mine, as well."   
  
Vegeta swallowed hard. He picked up the rock that had tripped him and crushed it to powder in his hand. Then he moved on. Goku was searching even more diligently. Kakkarot must have sent him a command. Was he really beating Radditz? And what was Nasu doing?  
  
'Can't let Goku catch me. . .'  
  
___________ __________  
  
"You look distracted, Kakkarot. I'd concentrate if I was you." Radditz smirked and added more ki to his blast. It was slowly moving toward Kakkarot.  
  
Kakkarot blinked, then snarled at Radditz and added more energy as well. The stream was flowing back towards Radditz now.  
  
Radditz's eyes widened. He didn't think he could stop it.  
  
Slowly, slowly. . . now it was picking up speed. This wasn't good, this wasn't good. . .  
  
Their combined blasts slammed into Radditz's chest and threw him through the trees until he plowed into the side of a cliff. Kakkarot followed after. He sent a barrage of energy bolts into Radditz, lying stunned and embedded in the cliff. Radditz fell to the ground, creating another crater. Kakkarot laughed.  
  
Radditz groaned and weakly picked himself up. He glanced over to Goku's house in the distance. Had Nasu freed anyone yet? He rose back in the air to start another round of fighting.  
  
___________ ____________  
  
"Nothing works!" Nasu pulled at her hair.  
  
"Maybe it's not in Standard," Hito mused. "Maybe Kakkarot switched it to Saiyago."  
  
"That doubles the possibilities!"  
  
"Try this. . ."  
  
__________ ____________  
  
"Why do you keep staring over there?" Kakkarot asked as Radditz flew up to meet him.  
  
"What?"  
  
Kakkarot looked to the house suspiciously. "Are you just worried about the prisoners? Or is there something going on?"  
  
Suddenly he phased away from Radditz and headed back towards the house at top speed.  
  
"Ribotto!" Radditz swore and tore after him.  
  
___________ ___________  
  
Goku was closing in. How could he be following so closely? His ki was hidden. Goku couldn't know where he was!  
  
Kami, kami, he was closing in. . . and this was a dead end. . . what was he going to do?  
  
_____________ __________  
  
"Din che," Nasu typed in.  
  
"What's that mean?" Krillen asked.  
  
"I win. . ." 


	14. 14

The Bite--Chapter 14  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
Kakkarot wasn't sure what else Radditz could be up to, but since he wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place, maybe he had something else tricky planned.  
  
'Better to be on the safe side,' he mused. 'I haven't gotten so far to lose now. I'll just keep the prisoners in sight, until it's time to kill them.' He felt an almost electric rush of elation. 'Once Vegeta's mine.' So close. . .  
  
He landed abruptly in front of the house, Radditz a few yards behind. He pulled the door open and entered cautiously--and then looked around frantically.  
  
*Where were they?*  
  
The room was empty. The prisoners were gone!  
  
He burst back out of the house, past the startled Radditz, and straight up in to the air. They weren't in sight. He snarled. They couldn't have gotten far, but in this forest, they could be any direction. And Radditz was coming up behind him again, prepared to fight. If the others were freed from their bonds, and regained the use of their ki, they could join in against him. Then he'd be overwhelmed. There were just too many.  
  
Frustration filled him. He hadn't captured Vegeta yet! And his ki was hidden once again! If he recalled Goku now. . . Yes. They would find Vegeta again. It was inevitable. The immediate danger was himself getting blasted-- and killed.  
  
"Goku!" he sent out. "Get back here. Now!"   
  
________ __________  
  
Vegeta turned around, trapped by the towering cliffs, and faced the direction from which he'd entered the gully. Goku would be coming through it any minute. Vegeta waited.  
  
Then Goku's ki abruptly powered up and headed back off towards the east. 'What in the--why?' Where was he going?  
  
He felt Kakkarot powering up far away.  
  
Goku was going towards him. He was returning to his house.  
  
There was Radditz's power exploding upwards , as well.  
  
He couldn't let Radditz fight them both alone! He sped off, trying to catch up with Goku.  
  
_________ _______  
  
They huddled together in the underbrush, watching Radditz get ready to fight Kakkarot again.  
  
"Why aren't we helping?" Trunks demanded.  
  
"Why do I feel so dizzy?" Goten complained.  
  
"You're feeling disoriented from the bracelets. Just rest for a minute and you'll be fine." Nasu patted his arm.  
  
"Plus, you've all been injured." Chi-Chi was still hovering over her boys, currently examining Gohan.  
  
"Hn. I've had worse," Hito stated.  
  
"I don't doubt it. But stay a moment. Radditz is holding his own. It's his brother. He should be allowed his chance to defeat him."  
  
"Dad's coming," Gohan interrupted.  
  
"Did he get Vegeta?"  
  
"No--I don't sense him. . ."  
  
"Fine. I'll go help Radditz. You recover fully so you can face Goku." Nasu rose from the bushes and flew toward the fight.  
  
Yamcha groaned. "If we have to fight Goku, we're in way over our heads." Krillin and Tien nodded.  
  
Hito crossed his arms. "Speak for yourself."  
  
"Oh, Goku," Chi-Chi whispered.  
  
__________ _________  
  
Kakkarot saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He instinctively flipped himself over. The energy bolt aimed at his head hit the ground instead.  
  
His eyes widened. "Nasu!"  
  
She smirked, coming to float beside Radditz. "Hello, traitor. Surprised to see me?"  
  
"You came with Radditz, I presume. So anxious to die."  
  
"You think you can beat the both of us?" Radditz sneered, smirking as well. He was glad Nasu had showed up. The others must be safe, then.  
  
"I take it you were the one who freed my guests. How did you know the password?"  
  
Nasu shrugged. "I didn't. Prince Vegeta did."  
  
"Ah. Well, not to worry. My servant Goku will have no problems rounding them up again. So, shall we?"  
  
"Let's." They all shifted back into battle stance. For a moment, there was a tense silence as they all stared at one another. Then Radditz led off.  
  
He darted forward, trying to land a punch. Kakkarot dodged, but Nasu came in quickly from the other side and hit him with a small energy blast. Kakkarot tried to kick her in the head but she slipped away; she grabbed for his tail, but missed.  
  
Radditz managed to plant his knee in Kakkarot's injured side, and heard ribs crack. Kakkarot fell down a few feet, then caught himself. Despite his injuries, his ki was rising higher and higher. He drew his hands back, then let loose another energy blast, hitting Nasu square in the stomach. She screamed, and careened into another cliff face, which exploded outward into small chunks of rock. For a moment she lay still.  
  
While Kakkarot was distracted, gloating, Radditz grabbed him from behind, locking one arm around his neck and one around his ribs. He squeezed.  
  
Kakkarot fought to free himself. His ribs were creaking, and the breath in his throat was being constricted. Black and red spots started to swim in his eyes.  
  
'No,' he thought wildly. 'This can't happen. I've spent too much of my life trying to get Vegeta, and nothing's going to stop me now.' The world around him blurred, until Vegeta's face filled his vision. That proud, stubborn scowl in the deep, obsidian eyes--he was going to utterly break him and make him his own. He had sworn it.  
  
His mind drifted, desperately pulling up Goku's memories. Spirit bomb, kaio- ken, the power to go Super Saiyan--rage, and a wrench of one's soul, and a burst of power. . .  
  
Kakkarot screamed, and his energy exploded outward, blowing Radditz several feet away.  
  
He screamed again, loud and furious, his eyes taking on a dangerous, unholy light, his aura flickering madly. His hair moved to stand straight up, and turned golden. His eyes flashed once more, suddenly teal.  
  
He laughed. "This is it! This is the legendary Super Saiyan! I have the power of the gods!"  
  
Nasu stirred, then slowly picked herself up off the ground. 'This is bad.'  
  
Kakkarot held up one glowing hand. An energy ball began to form above it, growing bigger and bigger.  
  
Radditz hung in the air, breathing hard. His face paled. So much power. . . he could never block that much energy.  
  
Kakkarot threw it at him. Radditz dodged desperately. The ball passed just inches from him, and exploded into the landscape. The earth cracked and shifted under the impact.  
  
There was a sudden displacement of air and Goku appeared beside Kakkarot, grinning. "I see you've transformed," Goku congratulated him.  
  
"Naturally," Kakkarot smirked. "Let's destroy these pests."  
  
"That's our cue," Hito said quietly, and emerged from the bushes. He strode into the clearing and looked up to where Goku and Kakkarot floated in the air. He felt an odd prickling on the edges of his mind, and blocked it. The probing stopped.  
  
Kakkarot smiled. "Old man Vegeta. I hear your wife is pregnant. Gonna have another half-breed mongrel, eh?"  
  
"Don't insult my family."  
  
Kakkarot shook his head. "Not nearly as cold and ruthless as you used to be. Too bad. It's a weakness. All those conflicting emotions running around in your head. Trusting somebody when deep down at the core of your soul is this fear that you'll be betrayed because you're inherently worthless. . ."  
  
"And you. Not daring to trust, completely dark and bleak and empty because you know deep down you're just a. . ." He searched for words that could contain his fury and loathing, and had to switch to Saiyago. ". . . a triloth sekama de lasa."  
  
Nasu, Radditz, and Trunks blanched. For a brief moment, Kakkarot's face darkened with anger and pain, then it was gone. Hito's eyes blazed, calmly staring him down.  
  
By now the others had all come to stand behind him. Now Trunks stepped forward and joined his father. "And you'll never have your name live on in your son," he added coldly, drawing another flash over Kakkarot's face. Trunks smirked. "Because in just a few more minutes you'll be dead."  
  
Then Kakkarot tossed his head back and laughed again. "We'll see, won't we?" He flexed the muscles in his arms. Goku and the other Saiyans powered up.  
  
And Vegeta stepped into the clearing, standing in between Hito and Nasu.  
  
Kakkarot's face lit up. "Vegeta! You've finally come!"  
  
Everyone looked at him. His expression was grim but determined. "Yes. The time has come to be rid of you once and for all."  
  
The bite marks on Vegeta, Hito, and Goku's shoulders began to throb and burn. "No," Kakkarot whispered, a whisper that could be heard clearly in the tense silence. "*Now* you *will* be mine."  
  
He threw himself at Vegeta, who went Super Saiyan and caught Kakkarot's fists. They struggled against each other.  
  
Hito sped through the air and attacked Goku. Gohan and Goten quickly followed, deciding it was their responsibility to minimize the damage their father caused, and to try and ensure he wasn't hurt too badly before he could be returned to his normal self.  
  
Piccolo also followed. Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien hovered around the edges of that group, knowing they were out of their league but prepared to do their part.  
  
Radditz and Nasu leaped to help Vegeta. Trunks hesitated, torn, knowing Goku presented the greatest challenge. They would need all the help they could get against him. But Vegeta-kun was his friend. He couldn't let that evil Kakkarot hurt him. He jumped to join the teenage Saiyans in their fight. 


	15. 15

The Bite---Chapter 15  
By Elbereth in April  
Kakkarot was outmatched, and he knew it. Oh, he was good, he was undoubtedly good. And now that he'd gone Super Saiyan, he could beat Nasu and Radditz easily. But now Vegeta and Trunks were before him, Super Saiyan as well. What he needed was an edge. He couldn't think of one.  
  
"Fire and Smoke!" he heard Nasu cry, and something exploded against his side. When the smoke cleared, he saw Vegeta's fist, just centimeters from his eyes. He flinched back, but Vegeta hit him anyway, and he flew backwards into Trunks, who pinned his arms behind him.  
  
Kakkarot snarled, power rising and bursting around him. Trunks had to slip up to Super Saiyan 2 to hold him. Then an energy blast from Goku ripped into Trunks' back and they both fell to the ground. Trunks lay still, and Kakkarot sprang up, grinning.  
  
Hito threw himself against Goku then, keeping him too busy for further help. But Kakkarot's confidence had returned. He threw a kamehameha at Radditz, stunning him, and propelling him through several more trees.  
  
"We'll take you out one by one, piece by piece, if we have to," Kakkarot told Vegeta.  
  
Completely exasperated, Vegeta finally got to say what he'd been wanting to say all day. "Would you just shut up?" And then, "Big Bang Attack!"  
  
Kakkarot managed to dodge, and the attack left a huge crater in the ground. Nasu darted in behind him and hit him with handfuls of ki in rapid succession, knocking him forward and rattling his teeth. By this time Radditz had picked himself back up, and launched himself at Kakkarot with a one-two punch. Kakkarot was caught between the double whammy of the attacks. Then both Saiyans fell away so Vegeta could fire his Gallic Gun.  
  
When the smoke cleared this time, Kakkarot was panting, blood streaming from his forehead, holding his arm. He quickly glanced over to Goku, who was Super Saiyan 2, fighting lazily with his sons, who were both level 2 as well.  
  
"Goku! Stop playing! Get serious!" he snapped.  
  
Goku scowled and looked at him, but nodded. He turned back to his sons to be greeted by a double kamehameha, and another Big Bang Attack from a Level 2 Hito.  
  
Vegeta plowed into Kakkarot again, kicking him in the side, then grabbing him by the injured arm, spinning him around, and throwing him into the crater, enlarging it.  
  
Kakkarot groaned and tried to get up. "Final Flash!" he heard, and the energy hit him, burning him before he managed to block.  
  
He pushed himself up to his elbows. Goku and Hito had faced off, and were fighting with dazzling martial arts moves. Both their forms were perfect, and neither one seemed to be able to get an advantage.  
  
He sensed movement to his right and looked over to see Trunks slowly standing up. The four young Saiyans moved to stand by one another in a row. Vegeta nodded, and each gave a shout, releasing an attack.  
  
The power slammed into him, knocking him back again. The ground fell away beneath him and rock fell on top of him. He was buried underneath the rubble.  
  
Vegeta glanced over at each of the others. Radditz and Nasu were looking drained, and Trunks was severely bruised, but they were all holding up.  
  
He tried to force himself to relax his tense muscles and calm down but his heart was beating triple-time. This was it. This was the battle for everything. His friends' lives and his own soul. They could not lose it. And he couldn't stop his heart from hammering and his stomach from churning so much he had to consciously will himself not to be ill.  
  
"Is he alive?" Nasu asked.  
  
"It'll take more than that, I'm afraid," Trunks replied, just as the rocks were flung upward, and Kakkarot rose into the air with a blaze of energy, eyes narrowed, tail bristling. And smirking.  
  
He'd thought of an edge.  
  
Kakkarot raised his hands. This would have to be timed just right. "Solar flare!" he screamed, and a bright light burst before their eyes.  
  
The four Saiyans cried out in pain and closed their eyelids tight, unable to see.  
  
Kakkarot raised his hand again. "And here's a little trick I learned from my father. . ." This globe of light wasn't nearly as bright; in fact, it was more like moon-light. And it was meant to be stared at.  
  
Kakkarot stared. For a moment he was aware of his breathing and his heartbeat above all else, then there was only the light. His eyes began to glow red. . . his shape began to change. Golden fur sprouted on his body. . .  
  
Now he towered above them in Super Oozaru form. He swiftly reached down and grabbed a still blinded Trunks in one hand, and Nasu and Radditz in the other. With one firey blast from his mouth, he knocked Goten and Gohan to the ground.  
  
Goku and Hito paused in their fight, staring at him. Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo swallowed hard and unconsciously took a few steps back.  
  
Kakkarot laughed maliciously as he began to squeeze the Saiyans in his hands, feeling bones break. Trunks was struggling.  
  
Vegeta blinked, trying to get his eyes to clear enough to see something besides white and yellow spots. A dazed Gohan had landed nearly on top of him. Goten was trying hard to get back up to help Trunks.  
  
Vegeta shook his head one more time and finally could see again. Krillin had just released an energy disk, trying to cut off Kakkarot's tail. Kakkarot stepped aside hastily. "None of that," he growled.  
  
Goku laughed and abruptly powered up to Super Saiyan 3. He swooped in and took out Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien with one energy wave. As Hito and Piccolo dived for him, he grabbed Goten by the hair, threw him in the air, and sent another ki blast after him. He screamed, and fell back to the ground.  
  
"Goten!" Gohan cried.  
  
Piccolo shoved Gohan back. "We can't beat him. Stay out of his way."  
  
Hito was on Goku then, throwing punches and blasts and kicks. Goku was grinning as he fought back.  
  
Vegeta noticed all this vaguely, as his attention never really left Kakkarot. Kakkarot, who was still slowly crushing his best friends to death.  
  
"Fire and Smoke," he whispered. Kakkarot howled as his fur caught fire and smoke obscured his vision. Vegeta shot up into the air and blew away the false moonlight, being careful not to look at it too long himself. The smoke helped. He wasn't going to tear up the whole planet by fighting oozaru, and neither was Kakkarot. The smoke cleared. Kakkarot looked around. . .  
  
And shrank down, losing his fur, collapsing out of his monkey form, and losing his hold on the other Saiyans, who fell to the ground, gasping for breath and trying not to black out.  
  
"Come on, Kakkarot," Vegeta said clearly. "You and me. Let's go."  
  
Kakkarot looked up. He smirked. "Let's."  
  
"Big. . ."  
  
"Kame. . ."  
  
"Bang. . ."  
  
"Hame. . ."  
  
"Attack!"  
  
"Ha!"  
  
Their energy bolts met across the clearing, as they faced each other about eight feet apart. Put in a little more. . . a little more. . .  
  
Back and forth. . .  
  
The ground crumbled and fell away in between them. Sparks crackled as their auras flared wildly, energy pouring out and pulsating all around them.  
  
Through the criss-crossing electricity, their eyes met. Kakkarot smiled. "Come on, Vegeta. . . you know it'll be good. It will."   
  
They stared at one another. Vegeta felt Kakkarot's mental fingers stroking at his mind, trying to find a way in. The bite mark burned. . .  
  
"It's inevitable, Vegeta. Let me in. . ."   
  
The pain of his body, the pain of his mind. . . Frieza openly laughing at him and tormenting him, and Kakkarot always watching in the shadows, watching, waiting, probing. The feel of Kakkarot's teeth, sinking into his shoulder, the bite exploding through his mind, ripping away his barriers and shields, Kakkarot inside his mind, the feel of him lapping up his secrets, sucking up his very being.  
  
He shuddered, remembering. It had been bad. It was bad enough.  
  
But now. . .  
  
Seeing Kakkarot almost crush his only friends to death. And Goku was slowly beating up Hito. If he stayed evil, who knew what he would do?. . . 'Goku's been looking at him sort of hungry-like.'  
  
It was enough. It was too much. It *would* stop. He would *not* hurt the others, too.  
  
Vegeta's eyes narrowed suddenly, causing Kakkarot's eyes to widen. Vegeta's eyes blazed forth with burning, intense hatred, focusing all his anger and pain on his enemy before him. And his ki flared up, up, to Super Saiyan 2.  
  
And his energy beam suddenly cut right through Kakkarot's, and into Kakkarot, sending him flying. Vegeta followed. When Kakkarot fell back down through the sky, he was there, and hit him in the head and the ribs and the stomach and the spine as he fell down, and then tossed another ki bolt to speed his descent so he hit the ground very hard, indeed.  
  
Goku had stopped his attack on Hito, panting, and abruptly dropping down to level 1, as he was running out of energy. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned and looked at Kakkarot, lying at the bottom of a deep hole. Goku started to go help, then stopped, as if not sure of what to do. Hito placed himself in his path.  
  
Vegeta went to the edge of the hole and looked down at Kakkarot, lying broken. He supposed he should be feeling some sort of smug satisfaction, but he did not. He just felt tired.  
  
He raised one hand, glowing with energy, and prepared to end it.  
  
Kakkarot slowly opened his eyes. His heart was racing, and he was desperate to stop this, but he found he couldn't move. This just couldn't be happening! It couldn't all end this way. His mind was too hazy with pain to call out to Goku. He blinked, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.  
  
"Vegeta, you can't. You can't do this to me. What will you do without me?"   
  
Vegeta thought of all the accusations he could make, the insults he could throw at Kakkarot, but what was the point? He said nothing, just pointed that glowing hand at Kakkarot.  
  
Who was crying, silently. "Why, Vegeta? Why? Don't do it! Don't!"   
  
Feeling cold, and not at all victorious, he let his attack loose, striking Kakkarot with all the ki he could draw on. A sort of vindication began to warm him then, as Kakkarot disintegrated in front of his eyes. As if he were righting a great wrong in the world.  
  
When Kakkarot was gone, there was a moment of silence. Then Nasu and Radditz cheered and hugged each other. Vegeta turned and looked at them and finally smiled.  
  
Chi-Chi burst out of the bushes where she had remained, watching the battle. "Oh, Goku!" she cried, looking up at him, where he and Hito still hovered in mid-air. "I'm so glad you're finally normal again!"  
  
Goku sank silently to the ground, the strangest expression on his face, before he gave his typical grin. "Yes. I should always be the hero."  
  
He began to walk toward her.  
  
The others were lost in excitement, and Chi-Chi was all starry-eyed, but Vegeta was staring at Goku, his danger sense whirring, feeling confused about it.  
  
And Hito realized the bite on his shoulder was burning just as Goku's hands shot out, each firing a bolt of ki, one at Hito and one at Vegeta.  
  
Chi-Chi screamed. Hito blocked, batting the blast away into the sky. Vegeta dodged, and the ki attack went past him and destroyed a few more trees.  
  
Goku was laughing. "You sensed I haven't changed, ne? I guess I've lost the element of surprise. But I'm still stronger than you!" He began to power up again, still laughing.  
  
"Goku, what's wrong with you?" Chi-Chi wailed. "Why are you still evil?"  
  
"I don't get it!" Gohan and Goten were huddled together, looking miserable. "With Kakkarot dead, his mind should be freed! What's going on?"  
  
"It's my fault."  
  
Everyone whirled around to search for the source of the voice. A tall, powerfully-built stranger walked slowly into the clearing, staring back at them all, with an arrogant smirk on his face.  
  
"Who are you?" Hito demanded.  
  
"My name is Brolly," the strange Saiyan said. "I have vowed vengeance on the Vegeta Royal Family. One way or another, I'm going to kill you all."  
  
_________ _______ 


	16. 16

The Bite--Ch16  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
"My name is Brolly," the strange Saiyan said. "And I vowed vengeance on the Vegeta Royal Family. One way or another, I'm going to kill you all."  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"King Vegeta wanted to kill me just after I was born because my power level was so high he considered me to be a threat. My father smuggled me out of the palace before they could execute me." He stepped a bit closer to Vegeta, staring him in the eyes. "My father was declared a traitor and we were both to be killed on sight. Father began our plan for revenge. First, he had your mother poisoned." A smirk.  
  
Vegeta's insides frosted over. A sick feeling rose in his throat and a rushing filled his ears.  
  
"Unfortunately, he couldn't get close enough to either of you. Then you got shipped out to Frieza. Father stayed on the planet with the King and sent me off to Frieza, too. I was to get you, he was to get your father. But Frieza didn't let me get anywhere near you. He had me live on his base planet and whenever he sent you there, he sent me on a mission!" The frustration showed clearly on his face. "Then one day he let me take some time off to visit my father on Vegeta-sei. And Father had come up with an idea." His gaze shifted to Hito, who had moved to stand beside Vegeta. Goku watched them from the sidelines.  
  
"Who did King Vegeta trust? Not too many people. But one was his Army Commander, Bardock. Father had been learning the art of how to take over people's minds. While I was there he started teaching me. When Bardock came back from his latest purging mission, Father was waiting on him. He'd been injured and seemed kind of dazed, so the timing was perfect. He kept babbling about getting cursed, and seeing the future, and Frieza being our enemy." Brolly shrugged. "So he was right; that's not the point. The important part is, he and Father fought. And Father should have won." His hand clenched. "But my guess is whatever had happened to him when he was cursed affected his mind in other ways. His mind was like a kaleidoscope, swirling and chaotic, but incredibly strong. I tried to help, but in the end I was pushed out and they clashed, so strong. . . somehow, they killed each other."  
  
Brolly looked back at Vegeta. "And five minutes later I found out that Bardock had been right. Frieza was in orbit around Vegeta-sei, preparing to kill us, right then. To be honest, I didn't care what happened to the planet. It meant that King Vegeta would die, and that's all that mattered." He grinned. "And so he did."  
  
There was a short pause. "How did you survive?" Piccolo asked quietly.  
  
"I formed a ki shield and deflected the blast from around me. Then I floated through the air until I reached Frieza's ship, and they let me aboard. I immediately looked for Vegeta, but he was away on a mission of his own with Radditz, Nasu, and Nappa. Apparently Frieza didn't dare let them know what had really happened to their planet." He sighed. "Anyway, I waited. Finally, Vegeta came back, and Kakkarot was brought on board. My first plan had been to start a fight with Vegeta and kill him. I could have done it easily. But then another idea occurred to me. Wouldn't it be poetic justice to use one of Bardock's sons for my revenge? After what had happened to my father?" He glanced over at Radditz, who was staring at him with hatred. He grinned at him. "I could never get Radditz alone. But then I got a lucky break. Zarbon and Kakkarot were going purging. I took a space pod and followed them down to the planet. I knocked out Zarbon and erased the whole thing from his memory. And then I took over Kakkarot's mind." He sighed in dreamy satisfaction, eyes half-closed. Then he laughed and looked at Vegeta again.  
  
"After that, it was easy. I deliberately kept my distance from the rest of you, and got a post on Frieza's scouter ship--you know, the one that flies ahead of his main ship, and makes sure everything's safe for him. So I stayed close enough to maintain my hold over Kakkarot, yet stayed hidden and let him do my work for me. A very fitting revenge, I thought, better than just killing you outright. And he truly did want you, it wasn't all me. And he came so close! But now, he has failed me, so I'll just go ahead and kill you, after all. And while I'm at it, I might as well kill that other Vegeta and his son."  
  
"I don't think so," Hito said.  
  
Brolly ignored him. "No hard feelings, Radditz. Over the years, I've pretty much gotten over my father's death. Most of my feelings for him vanished with his death, in fact." A shadow passed over his face as he added in a near whisper, "I suspect he may have practiced his mind control on me." A pause, then he grinned brightly and a bit psychotically. "Still, I enjoyed the fact that it was Kakkarot that I took for my slave, even if I don't really hold anything against Bardock anymore. And after all, I never did anything to you personally. So stay out of my way and I'll let you live."  
  
"Can you go to Level Three?" Goten interrupted.  
  
Brolly smirked. "Levels have no meaning to me."  
  
Trunks and Radditz came forward and stood next to Vegeta and Hito. Nasu, Gohan, and Goten fell in behind them. Piccolo, Tien, Krillen, and Yamcha stood at the back.  
  
"I don't accept your offer. You helped kill my father and corrupted my brother. You want to kill my best friend and my Prince. For all that you must die," Radditz hissed at him.  
  
Brolly shrugged. "If that's how you want to interpret it."  
  
Trunks gave Vegeta a worried glance. His expression was deliberately, carefully blank, but he was shaking with emotion. Trunks wondered what he was feeling.  
  
Hito sneered. "You can't beat all of us. Even with *him* helping you," indicating Goku.  
  
"You have no idea how strong I am," Brolly laughed. "Here. Let me show you."  
  
His power up was quick and explosive, literally. The ground cracked and rock burst upward around them and fell away beneath them. Trees were uprooted and toppled over. A wind whipped around them.  
  
"He's good," Krillen gulped, swallowing hard.  
  
Vegeta watched him, emotions a churning miasma. A voice, singing. A hand, reaching out to him. Long brown hair being brushed in the moonlight. A hug against armor, feeling slightly crushed, but laughing in delight. Oh, kami, Mother. . .  
  
A curious, over-excitedable boy, hair sticking up in all directions, following Radditz around. Eyes always shining, smiling much more than Saiyans usually did. Then going purging, and coming back. . . changed.  
  
Shining eyes, gloating. "You're mine now, *Prince*." The feel of teeth against his shoulder, his mind exploding.  
  
He made a strange noise in the back of his throat, and Radditz looked over at him, then back at Brolly. He'd never truly hated anyone before this day (although Frieza had come close). But now rage filled him, and power coursed through him. He didn't transform, but his energy level did increase enormously.  
  
Not that it seemed he would be able to make much difference against *that*. Brolly's power just kept going up. And up. Then he stood before them, glowing golden with a strange hint of green, very much a Super Saiyan.  
  
Hito scowled. This baka had no right to be this strong!  
  
They all closed ranks and prepared to fight.  
  
Hito led off, closing rapidly and kicking Brolly in the face. There was not much reaction. Brolly was huge--tall, bulky, all muscle, like a tank. Obviously they were going to have to hit him pretty hard for him to even feel it.  
  
Trunks followed his father, coming in from Brolly's side and grabbing his long hair as he kneed the giant Saiyan in the stomach. The teenager used his hair to throw him to Radditz, who karate-chopped him in the back, then Nasu darted in to elbow him in the face. They moved back just in time for Vegeta to hit him with a super-charged wave of ki that slammed him backwards and into Goku, who had been hanging back and watching.  
  
Both Saiyans ended up impacting against the ground with excessive force, Goku on the bottom. More of the landscape shattered beneath them. Goku lay still for a moment, but Brolly simply got up, seemingly unharmed. And smirking.  
  
Goten and Gohan began firing bolts of energy at him, ending up with their traditional kamehameha's. Again, Brolly shrugged it all aside. And began attacking back.  
  
He raised one hand and a green globe of light formed there, which he tossed at Vegeta and Hito, who both crossed their arms in an "X" and blocked.  
  
The green light exploded outwards, seeming to fill the entire clearing, the entire forest. There was the noise of the concussion, and the ground rumbled. Dust filled the air.  
  
When the debris had cleared, Vegeta took stock. No trees were left standing around them. The area was a smoking ruin. Yamcha, Krillin, and Tien were stretched out on the ground, unconscious. Radditz, Nasu, and Piccolo were on the ground, too, bleeding but not yet out of it. The other Super Saiyans had *been* on the ground, but were sitting up, moaning a bit, but looking rather vengeful. The fight wasn't over yet.  
  
But Goku was standing again, and Vegeta had to admit that things didn't look good. His other self let rage and pride blind him to things, but he himself usually managed to keep a clear head. And although his rage and pride told him to stand up and *kill* this murderous rat, this treacherous maniac, this *thing*, his head was telling him quite plainly they didn't stand much of a chance at actually accomplishing this. They needed a strategy.  
  
Except he couldn't think of one.  
  
Then Goku floated upwards and threw a blast down at Radditz, Nasu, and Piccolo, who found enough strength to scatter. Gohan and Goten rose up to meet their father. Piccolo slowly joined them.  
  
Trunks and Hito looked at each other, then launched themselves at Brolly, both punching him in the abdomen at the same time, then Hito kicked him in the head, and Trunks swept his legs out from under him. They jumped back and Radditz, Nasu, and Vegeta hit him with various attacks at the same time.  
  
He threw up an arm and batted them away as easily as one would shoo at a fly. He held up both hands then, and let loose two more green balls, one for Trunks and Hito, one for Vegeta and his friends. They jumped to escape, but the balls expanded and followed, then detonated, once again seeming to fill the whole clearing.  
  
Goku and his sons were above the blast, but Piccolo was clipped by it and fell to earth. Nasu and Radditz tried to help each other to stand up, but had to fall back down. "How does he do that?" Nasu groaned.  
  
Trunks had dropped out of Level Two, and Vegeta wobbled on his feet. Hito looked beside himself with fury. "Calm down," Vegeta muttered to him. "Help me come up with a plan." Hito looked at him, and the anger on his face faded as he thought.  
  
"Purple hair," Brolly said suddenly. "You're not a true Saiyan. You're more of an outcast than me. Half-breed. Die!" He fired his green ki again.  
  
____________ ___________  
  
A/N: Well, that was for those who couldn't truly believe Kakkarot could ever be evil. He had help. But like Brolly said, "It wasn't all me!"  
  
Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Oh, and if you like Radditz, go read Dragoness Eclectic. She's got good stuff. 


	17. 17

The Bite--Chapter 17  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
"Purple hair," Brolly said suddenly. "You're not a true Saiyan. You're more of an outcast than me. Half-breed. Die!" He fired his green ki again.  
  
Everybody moved at once. Nasu and Radditz dived out of the way. Trunks tried to do the same. Vegeta and Hito both sped over to try to help him, but they were behind him and they couldn't get in front in time. Goten wasn't any stronger than Trunks, but he didn't stop to think about that. He just wanted to protect his friend. He dropped straight down.  
  
The blast hit just as Goten landed in front of Trunks. He absorbed most of it, with Trunks getting hit by residual energy. They both slammed into the ground hard enough to break bones and shatter the earth underneath them. Vegeta and Hito flew over at once.  
  
"Are they OK?" Vegeta asked, voice shaking.  
  
"They're still alive," Hito replied quietly. "They're stronger than that demon gives them credit for."  
  
Then power exploded around them as Gohan finally lost his temper and went Mystic. His energy bolt plowed into Brolly and knocked him back about a dozen yards, inflicting actual visible damage. Gohan phased out and reappeared over Brolly as he struggled to stand back up. He punched the larger man under the chin, causing him to stagger backwards. But his kick to the ribs was blocked by Brolly's arm.  
  
"Goku!" Brolly snarled. "Can't you control your brat?"  
  
Goku blinked, then abruptly materialized behind Gohan and grabbed both his arms, pulling them backwards. "Dad!" Gohan cried as he felt the strain on his shoulder and elbow joints.  
  
Goku ignored him and grinned at Brolly, who smirked back and hit Gohan in the stomach.  
  
"OK," Vegeta said, turning to Hito. "What was that whole fusion thing you were telling me about?"  
  
Hito's eyes suddenly gleamed. "That's it! You and I will fuse. Then that traitor to the Saiyan race will learn the meaning of pain and defeat."  
  
"How do we do it?"  
  
Hito looked uncomfortable. "Well, we have to do this stupid little dance." He looked over at Radditz and Nasu. "Maybe no one will notice in the confusion."  
  
"Hito--anything that lets us win is not stupid. Show me, and let's do it."  
  
Trying really hard not to blush, Hito showed him. Vegeta half-smirked. "You're right. That looks pretty stupid."  
  
"Brat!"  
  
"I'm doing it, I'm doing it!"  
  
Trunks sat up slowly, pulling Goten up with him. "Are they fusing?" Goten whispered. Trunks nodded. They heard Gohan scream and quickly turned their heads. "Dad's beating up on Nissan!"  
  
"That really sucks."  
  
"Fu. . . sion. . . ha!"  
  
There was a burst of light. Trunks stumbled to his feet, leaving Goten on the ground. Nasu motioned to Trunks and he helped her and Radditz stand. The light faded.  
  
They all looked at where two Saiyans had stood. Now there was only one, who was curiously looking himself over. Trunks squinted at him. He was lean, muscled, of indeterminate age, and had a tail. 'His face is young,' Trunks decided. 'But his eyes are old. Warier than Father's. But more arrogant than Vegeta-chan's.'  
  
"So what do you call yourself?" Trunks asked.  
  
He raised his eyebrows. "Prince Vegeta. What else would my name be?"  
  
Radditz and Nasu laughed.  
  
"Oh." Trunks looked at Goten, who grinned and shrugged.  
  
Vegeta faced Brolly, his eyes narrowing. "Now, to take him down."  
  
"Pound him into the ground, Vegeta," Goten encouraged.  
  
Trunks said, "I'll go help Gohan."  
  
Goten tried to get up, but his leg collapsed under him. He hissed in pain and stayed sitting, frowning with worry.  
  
Vegeta rushed over to Brolly. Nasu and Radditz followed slowly, hanging back on the sidelines in case they could help.  
  
Brolly turned away from Goku and Gohan to meet Vegeta's attack. His eyes widened. "Which one are you? What is this?"  
  
"They fused together," Goku informed him, letting go of Gohan as Trunks entered the fray.  
  
"Fused?" Brolly's forehead wrinkled in confusion. Goku didn't answer because Trunks had shouted, "Final Flash!" and released a huge burst of ki. Only Instant Transmission saved Goku from being hit by it.  
  
Trunks and Gohan gave chase as Vegeta concentrated on Brolly. They came together in a flurry of punches until Vegeta finally reached out and grabbed Brolly by the hair, spun him around, and then threw him into the ground.  
  
Brolly landed in a previously-formed crater, deepening it further, causing dozens of thin little cracks to spread outward, some for miles. He drug himself back to his feet, shook his head a bit to clear it, then looked back up at Vegeta with blazing eyes. He half-smiled, a particularly vicious, insulting sort of smile. "Your mother," he said. "I bet your daddy didn't let you see your mother after she was dead. That's because the poison we gave her made her real ugly. Her body swelled all up and her eyes got kind of glassy and strange, and her lips and tongue turned black. . ."  
For a few seconds, Vegeta honestly couldn't see anything but a sort of haze of red and grey. Anger consumed his soul in flames. He would avenge his mother. He must.  
His nerve endings felt like they were on fire. His whole body seemed to flush, then tingle. Hair suddenly spilled down his back, and some strands got into his mouth, making him blink, and reach his hand up to run those strands through his fingers. He blinked again.  
"We're Super Saiyan Three," thought the part of him that was Hito.  
"Good," the part that was Vegeta thought back with savage satisfaction.  
Vegeta's gaze met Brolly's, and there was death in it. He spoke in Saiyago. "For your crimes, the penalty is to be executed in front of these witnesses. I, your Prince, judge you. Now I will carry out your sentence. Prepare yourself for the next dimension." He looked at Radditz and Nasu. "Witness it."  
"Kiya namen," they replied. So be it.  
With a yell, Vegeta attacked.  
______________________ ___________________________  
  
A/N: I know that was short, but I wanted to give you something to tide you over the weekend. More will be forthcoming. But now I'm going to go celebrate my birthday. Ja ne! 


	18. 18

The Bite--Ch. 18  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
With a yell, Vegeta attacked. His right fist connected with Brolly's face. The bigger Saiyan took a step backward. Then his left fist came up and met his gut, making him stagger back further. A sweep kick and Brolly had his feet knocked out from under him, and fell over. Vegeta promptly kicked him in the throat.  
  
Brolly choked a bit, but grabbed Vegeta's leg as he was moving back, and pulled. Vegeta started to fall, but changed it into a twist and a roll back to his feet. Brolly stood up.  
  
Then they both took to the air. Brolly threw a roundhouse punch that Vegeta dodged back from. The blow missed by mere inches.  
  
Vegeta responded with a double kick to the chest and head, which had Brolly seeing stars for a moment. Vegeta used the distraction to grab Brolly up bodily, knee him in the small of the back, and hoist him above his head, where he spun him around several times and then let go. Brolly flew dozens of yards, crashing through trees and plowing through hills. Vegeta followed.  
  
As Brolly was pulling himself out of the wreckage of a hillside, Vegeta hit him with a Gallic Gun. "Quit playing around and get serious," Vegeta sneered.  
  
Brolly's eyes narrowed. "All right," he hissed, making it to his feet. He gathered his eerie green ki again and threw it; it started as a tiny ball and spread outward rapidly.  
  
Vegeta set himself to block it. 'Are you sure this is wise?' Vegeta asked Hito.  
  
'We're Super Saiyan 3!' Hito countered, with pride.  
  
'Oh boy. Why am I always this arrogant?'  
  
The energy blast hit his crossed arms and rebounded back into the sky, but it did burn. Vegeta bit his lip around the pain so he wouldn't yell. 'There. Everybody thinks we're tough now. Was it worth it? That hurt!'  
  
'Does Brolly look intimidated?'  
  
'Hmm. . . yeah, a little.'  
  
'Well then. Quit complaining, brat.'  
  
He did have a point. Vegeta met Brolly's eyes and smirked. "You call that an attack?"  
  
Brolly roared in anger and launched himself at Vegeta, who laughed. They exchanged more blows. One eventually connected against Vegeta's ribs with a crunching sound and his vision blurred for a minute. He kicked Brolly away. "Big Bang Attack!" he yelled.  
  
Brolly blocked it, but it knocked him down to the ground before he could send it away from himself.  
  
Vegeta followed it up quickly with a rapid series of small energy blasts, one after the other. Brolly was obscured by smoke for a moment. Then suddenly, he was right in front of Vegeta, his hand glowing with that green fire. Vegeta dodged and the blast took out more forest.  
  
He heard a scream off to his left and turned. Goku had just blasted Trunks, who was falling to the ground. He twitched when he landed and didn't get up again. Gohan immediately renewed his attack on his father.  
  
Brolly used Vegeta's distraction to come up on him again. He hit him hard in the jaw before he saw it coming. Vegeta crashed into a tree, and spit blood. He groaned, but got back up.  
  
'We're still too evenly matched, Hito. How are we gonna get him?'  
  
'Um. . . know any more tricks?'  
  
Vegeta thought. 'Well, there's another neat move Nasu has. . .'  
  
Brolly was gathering more of his green energy.  
  
"Earth and Wind," Vegeta said calmly, concentrating. He held out both hands in front of him and let his ki flow. Wind blew up around him, from the sheer energy force he was projecting. Brolly started to be propelled backwards. He scowled and stopped himself from moving. The ground around them started to rise in clumps and chunks of earth and grass, swirling madly in the wind. Brolly blinked and covered his eyes with one hand.  
  
Then the wind came faster. Trees were uprooted and flew around. It became very hard to see. The wind formed into a tornado, blowing faster and stronger yet. Brolly started to move again, unable to stop himself this time, getting tossed in spiraling circles until he was dizzy. The air started to crackle with charged ki energy, sparking around Brolly in electric shocks.  
  
He spun Brolly high up into the air and then dropped him. He hit the forest floor with a bone-breaking thud. The wind stopped abruptly. Rocks and trees fell on top of him. "Final Flash!" Vegeta cried, and released all the built up energy on to Brolly.  
  
It was deathly quiet. Brolly lay unmoving. A trickle of blood ran from his mouth. Vegeta, breathing hard, chest heaving, looked over at Nasu and Radditz.  
  
"Is he dead?" Radditz whispered.  
  
Vegeta began to cautiously approach the still form.  
  
"Vegeta! Look out!" Nasu screamed, just before he was tackled from behind by Goku. Goku punched him in the kidneys, then stood suddenly. He just stood there, unmoving, simply blinking.  
  
Vegeta groaned and slowly sat up. He met Goku's eyes. "Vegeta?" Goku asked, looking and sounding very puzzled. "What's going on?"  
  
Vegeta's eyes opened wide. Was Goku finally free?  
  
"How do you feel, Goku?" he asked, deliberately using his Earth name, even though it felt weird to do so.  
  
"Um. . . fine? What--what's. . . oh." He blinked a few more times, then raised one hand to his head. "My head hurts. It feels really. . . funny."  
  
Vegeta's gaze swiveled back to Brolly. Who was slowly sitting up. His eyes were totally insane. Vegeta looked back to Goku, whose expression went completely blank.  
  
"Fight it, you baka," Vegeta snarled, exasperated. "You don't want to be evil!"  
  
Goku gasped and clutched his head. "He's crazy!"  
  
"No kidding!"  
  
Vegeta was starting to feel a little panicked. Gohan was lying over there with Goten and Piccolo crouched over him, all too out of it to contribute anything. Trunks was on his hands and knees, conscious again, but looking pretty damaged. Nasu and Radditz were gripping one another's hands, staring back and forth between Goku and Brolly with wide eyes. They were ready to help, but just not that strong. Everybody else was still unconscious.  
  
'We've only got 2 minutes left before we unfuse, brat. Forget Goku for now. Hit Brolly with everything we've got while he's concentrating on regaining Goku.'  
  
'What have we got left?'  
  
'All the usual. . .'  
  
'That won't do it!'  
  
'Well, you seem to have this *thing* with acquiring other people's moves. . .'  
  
'What's wrong with that? If they're good ones.'  
  
'Well, Kakkarot's got some good ones, much as it pains me to admit. . .'  
  
'Examples, please?'  
  
'There's one that's called a Spirit Bomb. . . if we've got time to do it. . .'  
  
'Let's try!'  
  
'OK. Clear your mind--we're gonna call on the Earth. . .' 


	19. 19

The Bite--Chapter 19  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
Clearing his mind proved difficult, but Vegeta did it. 'All right. Now concentrate. And call upon the planet and all living things on it. The earth, the air, the plants, the animals. . . focus on them. And their ki. You feel the ki? OK. Collect their energy and form a ball, above your head. That's right. Call. Feel them offering it up? Take it.'  
  
He reached for the energy. He could feel it growing, flowing within him and through him and out his hands into the ball above his head.  
  
More. He needed more.  
  
Brolly bounded forward and grabbed Goku by the shoulders, ignoring Vegeta for the moment, as he seemed to be just standing still.  
  
Goku growled and tried to shove Brolly away. Brolly hung on, staring into Goku's eyes. Goku became quiet and dropped his arms.  
  
"Fight him, Goku!" Trunks called, deeply worried.  
  
Sweat broke out on Goku's face. Trunks bit his lip. Brolly snarled. Goku gave a yell, once, then went limp. His eyes closed as he passed out.  
  
Brolly hissed in exasperation and threw Goku away from him. He fell in a heap to the ground. Brolly turned back to look at Vegeta. He raised his eyebrows. "And what do you think you're doing?"  
  
'No, not yet! We need a little more time!' Vegeta thought desperately.  
  
Trunks seemed to recognize this. He'd heard enough about how the Spirit Bomb worked to realize Vegeta's plight. 'Here goes nothing,' he thought, took a deep breath, and launched himself at Brolly.  
  
Brolly heard him coming, and turned from staring at Vegeta, but he was a little too late to react. Trunks tackled him to the ground and started pummeling him with his fists.  
  
Nasu and Radditz looked at each other, then at Vegeta.  
  
"Hold him off for just another minute," Vegeta called to them softly, so Brolly wouldn't hear. "It'll be ready by then."  
  
They nodded and entered the fray, each grabbing one of Brolly's arms and holding it behind his back as Trunks continued to hit him.  
  
Vegeta felt himself sweating. 'It better be ready. That'll only leave one minute before I unfuse.'  
  
Brolly was growling at his opponents. His ki started escalating. That was a sign to Trunks that he should throw an energy attack. Nasu and Radditz let go just in time for him to fire. Brolly took the blast in the face, and flew backwards a dozen yards.  
  
Nasu cheered. Trunks looked at her and blushed.  
  
But then the trees around where Brolly had landed blew outward in an explosion of splinters and twigs. And he came charging back towards them, glowing a crackling green.  
  
'Let's just throw it,' Vegeta suggested in panic. 'He may kill them!'  
  
'If it's not at full power, it won't do any good. We can't waste this. He's weakened, despite that light show. Hold on,' Hito argued.  
  
'We're not the ones paying.' Vegeta wanted to close his eyes, but didn't.  
  
Brolly rammed into Radditz, pinning him against a tree and kicking him in the ribs. Radditz felt several break. Then he grabbed Radditz by the hair and one arm and threw him into the air. He raised an arm to send an energy bolt after him.  
  
Nasu leapt to try and stop him, but Brolly merely turned and smiled at her, spun around behind her, and grabbed her by the tail. She screamed. He laughed, pulling her up against him. She put all her weight into stepping on the inside of his foot, and he howled and slacked his hold enough that she could maneuver around to face him. He had stopped smiling, she was pleased to note. She spit in his face, then punched him in the stomach. He let go of her tail. She flitted away up into the air, pausing long enough to kick him in the back of the head as she rose upward.  
  
"Big Bang Attack!" Trunks shouted, and hit Brolly with another ki blast before he could recover.  
  
Radditz managed to stop his flight and right himself in mid-air. Nasu flew up next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. His face was drawn up tight with pain. She helped him back to the ground, then returned to the air to join Trunks.  
  
They hovered over Brolly, who wiped his face, stood up, and looked at them. "Insolent Saiyan brat," he said, quite calmly one would think, until they looked deeply into his eyes and saw the madness there.  
  
'He's lost it,' Radditz fretted. 'He's gone over the edge with anger.' That made him even more dangerous.  
  
"Half-breed abomination. Bardock's spawn," Brolly continued, insulting them each in turn. "You will all die."  
  
"Someday," Nasu replied. "But not today. And not by your hand."  
  
Brolly gave a laugh that chilled Radditz, who thought it positively maniac. Then he gathered two handfuls of green ki and threw them both at Trunks.  
  
He dodged the first, but the second struck him in the chest and sent him crashing to the ground, where he landed with his leg twisted under him. He didn't get back up.  
  
'Now,' Hito instructed. 'Throw it now!'  
  
The energy was a vibrating, pulsating mass above his head. He took hold of it with all his might and sent it flying toward Brolly.  
  
"Kiya namen se!" he shouted as he loosed it.  
  
Once again time seemed to slow down. Nasu and Radditz both turned their heads to watch. Brolly whirled around to face him, not comprehending the danger. His face went slack when he saw the enormous ball of energy heading for him. He started to dive away.  
  
But he never made it. The Spirit Bomb was faster. It enveloped him in its light.  
  
With a popping noise and a strange stretching sensation, Vegeta and Hito unfused.  
  
Everyone squinted through the light to see. . . and Brolly was slowly obliterated into particles of nothingness. Hito let out a deep breath. Vegeta swallowed hard.  
  
"Name tiko," Vegeta said. It is finished.  
  
"Rate tah," Radditz and Nasu responded. So witnessed.  
  
Hito smirked. "That'll teach them to mess with Saiyan Royalty."  
  
Vegeta couldn't help but smile at that.  
  
"How's Trunks?" Nasu asked, walking over to him. "How are you, Radditz?"  
  
"I'll be fine," Radditz replied.  
  
Hito went to examine Trunks. "He's OK. Nothing that a senzu bean can't fix."  
  
Vegeta looked over at Goku, who looked like he was starting to come around.  
  
Krillen appeared from amongst the trees, looking rueful. "I missed the whole thing, didn't I?"  
  
"Check Goku," Vegeta ordered.  
  
Krillen blinked, but did so. The others were stirring, as well. Chi-Chi came running up to check on Goten. Piccolo, moving in a strange cross between his normal stalking and a woozy sort of wobble, went over to see about Gohan.  
  
Vegeta watched them all, ignoring his own few injuries. This was his clan now. His past was officially over. And while his planet and most of his people were gone, here he was on a new planet, with friends. He wouldn't be a King, but he was free from Frieza at last. And Brolly was dead. And Kakkarot. . . Kakkarot. . .  
  
Goku sat up, rubbing his temples. "Oh man, what just happened?"  
  
Apprehensive looks turned toward him. "Brolly's dead," Krillen reported nervously. "You *are* good again, now, right?"  
  
Goku frowned in confusion. "Haven't I always been?"  
  
"You were evil, you baka," Hito told him scathingly. "I thought you had more will power than that."  
  
"Like you can talk," Piccolo sneered.  
  
"But I *wanted* to be evil," Hito retorted.  
  
Trunks groaned and sat up. The first sight his eyes met was Nasu's eyes staring back at him. He blushed but didn't look away.  
  
Goku was good now. All his enemies were dead. He was safe, and among friends. He'd found a place. And Kakkarot. . . Vegeta shuddered involuntarily. He still couldn't think about Kakkarot. That would be for later. But Kakkarot was dead, and that was the important thing.  
  
"I'm staying here."  
  
They all turned to look at him.  
  
"I'm not going back."  
  
"Then neither are we," Radditz said. Nasu nodded.  
  
"Good! You can stay with us!" Trunks smiled happily. Hito didn't speak up to say no.  
  
Chi-Chi looked as if she couldn't decide whether or not to be horrified. "Two Vegeta's? Forever? Oh my."  
  
As if on cue, they both smirked. 


	20. 20

The Bite-Chapter 20  
  
By Elbereth in April  
  
Bulma let them take over the whole attic floor. She protested at first that Nasu should have her own room, but Hito said she was used to living with males on Frieza's ship and to just let her stay up there, too, if she wanted. So they ended up just walling off certain sections for privacy and leaving the rest one big room space.  
  
Currently it was 10 PM and four young Saiyans were sitting on their respective beds. Along with Goten, who was on the floor, sitting on a sleeping bag, and Meg and Becky, on air mattresses. Their three friends had been invited over for the night.  
  
"I overheard Mom and Dad and Chi-Chi talking earlier," Trunks was telling them. "About sending us to school in the fall."  
  
Nasu, Radditz, and Vegeta looked at each other. School had never occurred to them.  
  
"For the last couple years, Goten and I have been going to this private academy. Thirty-five kids whose parents want them home-schooled. But we've been saying for awhile now that we'd like to see more of the world, meet new people. And Mom said it wouldn't be a good idea to drop 5 teenage Saiyans on them, anyway. Like a nuclear bomb, were her words." He grinned. "So they decided to send us to Orange Star High School, where Gohan went."  
  
"That's where we go," said Becky, her eyes sparkling.  
  
Meg clapped her hands. "We can show you around!"  
  
Trunks grinned wider. Radditz raised his eyebrows. Nasu tugged at her hair. Then Vegeta slowly started to smile in the same mischievous way Trunks was. "So the bomb falls on them instead?" The other three Saiyans all immediately started smiling, as well.  
  
"May Heaven have mercy on the poor teachers' souls," came a female voice from the doorway. Bulma and Hito stood framed by the door.  
  
"Mercy is for the weak," Nasu responded automatically.  
  
Bulma fidgeted. "Um, we'll have to work on that."  
  
"As long as they're out of the house. Just don't blow up the place. We'll have enough trouble on our hands with this new brat on the way," Hito grimaced.  
  
"Have you agreed on a name yet?" Meg asked.  
  
"Bra."  
  
"Woman, we're not naming the brat Bra and that's final!"  
  
"Yeah, Trunks is bad enough," Trunks complained.  
  
"How about Daro? That's the Saiyan equivalent of a female undergarment," Nasu told Bulma.  
  
"What about Barbra? You could call her Bra for a nickname," Becky suggested.  
  
"I still like Suitokoon," Radditz stated, voice firm.  
  
"Sweet corn?"  
  
"Good Saiyan name," Hito nodded. "Or Piisu."  
  
Meg scratched her head. "I can see this will be a long, agonizing debate."  
  
Trunks laughed. "Why don't you give her all those names and she can pick one when she's older."  
  
Hito looked thoughtful. "It's an idea."  
  
"Anyway," Bulma said, taking Hito's hand, "we just came up to say goodnight. Does anybody need anything else before we go to bed? Everybody got a pillow?"  
  
Everyone claimed to be fine, and Bulma led Hito away. Hito looked back at them one last time and smirked. "Orange Star High School won't know what hit it."  
  
Five Saiyan smirks and two human grins answered him.  
  
________ __________  
  
Hito looked at his two newest students. "This is 25 times gravity. If you want to become Super Saiyan, we'll have to keep increasing it."  
  
"Hai!"  
  
"OK, you already know how to sense and repress ki. On to step two. . ."  
  
When Trunks and Vegeta joined them at 8 AM, they were enthusiastically sparring while Hito watched. "You two! Get to it!"  
  
"Yes, Dad," they chorused, making Nasu miss her punch when she and Radditz started laughing. Hito scowled.  
  
"Ooh, ooh, I want to call him Dad, too!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Brats, show some respect for your Prince and your sensei."  
  
"Yes, Dad," all four said together.  
  
"That's it! I'm taking you all on!"  
  
Trunks and Vegeta immediately went Super Saiyan as Radditz whooped in excitement, and the whole group clashed in the middle of the GR, which shook.  
  
Several hours later, they'd blown the place up and Bulma was giving them all a thorough scolding. They had the decency to look sheepish. Bunny Briefs giggled as she watched through the window. 'One pack of Saiyans ruled by one human woman,' she thought, giggling again.  
  
_________ ________  
  
Goku showed up just after lunch. "Could I talk to the Vegeta's, please?"  
  
They went into Bulma's den for some privacy. "I want you to know," he said sincerely, looking Vegeta in the eyes, "that I'm sorry about acting evil and trying to kill everyone."  
  
"I should hope so," Hito snorted.  
  
"If you want to look into my mind again and make sure I'm trustworthy now, I'll let you."  
  
Hito raised his eyebrows. Vegeta's eyes widened a fraction. He hesitated briefly, then, "Yes. I do."  
  
Hito watched them both as Vegeta looked into Goku's open mind. He saw a relaxation of tension in Vegeta's body that he only just then realized had been there. The boy trusted people even less than him, and was very good at hiding things. He'd have to keep a close eye on him in order to make sure things were really all right with him. At least it seemed he'd be able to stop being afraid of Goku, despite all that had happened. It looked they'd get along well enough.  
  
They were finished. "Now all you have to do," he reminded them, "is suppress the bond. As much as you can."  
  
"Right."  
  
Vegeta already felt much better. Now he followed instruction as Hito and Goku helped him cover up his end of the link, and then Goku covered his side. It could never be completely sealed or destroyed, but it was shoved to the bottom of their mental awareness. As Goku had put it earlier, like an itch you have, but can ignore.  
  
Goku smiled when they were done. "I'm glad we can be friends. If you ever want to spar, just call!"  
  
Hito smirked. "You know we reached Level 3 when we were fused."  
  
"Awesome! Fighting you'll be great!"  
  
Vegeta laughed. "He hides it better, but he's as bad as we are."  
  
________ ________  
  
After Radditz and Nasu explored the possibilities of Virtua Fighter 4, Trunks and Vegeta dueled at Tekken late into the night.  
  
Then they went to bed. And Vegeta didn't fear dreams at all. 


	21. 21

I really like these characters, and so I didn't want to end my story. I've been thinking about what new villains come after them, how they handle school. I have a whole family tree planned out of who marries who and how many kids they have (my best friend thinks I've gone past the point of obsession and just shakes his head at me sadly. I have been officially dubbed "otaku," and this from the guy who got me started watching anime in the first place). But after thinking about it, and being told it was a good idea, I've decided to continue this as a separate sequel. One particular plot arc has been finished and now I'm moving into a new saga. So while "The Bite" is officially ended, the gang will have more adventures in "Breaking Forth." Look for it! Many thanks for reviewing, I hope you'll join me.btw, it won't be all a high school fic, and the parts that are won't be like some bad hs fics you've read.trust me, Kahlan Nightwing, keep reading!! (  
  
Elbereth in April 


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